The Pink Flamingohttp://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com
Life is tacky. Deal with it!Tue, 03 Mar 2015 11:38:05 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.1Has ISIS Already Won?http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ThePinkFlamingo/~3/_5wWSZqs0-E/
http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/03/03/has-isis-already-won/#commentsTue, 03 Mar 2015 11:38:05 +0000http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/?p=43037...Read the Rest]]>ISIS is now threatening Twitter employees and executives for cracking down on their psychopathic tweets. Golly, just the other day I blocked a person who was trying to follow me, and was tweeting gobbledygook. He scared me just a little bit, because I am thinking this is how these jerks are doing it. When you’ve been on Twitter long enough, you know what to look for with people. This bothered me. I blocked and reported him. I try to police my Twitter followers because bad things happen. I’m thinking this is how they operate.

They say, in North Korea, the quickest way to be executed is to dare be a comedian and make fun at the dear leader. Despots and dictatorships cannot tolerate humor. They can’t tolerate freedom of speech, but their tolerance of humor is even less. Evidently, here in the US, humor is no longer to be tolerated, if it were to upset ISIS. CNN was terribly upset about it Monday morning. Evidently it was in bad taste and should not have been broadcast.

“…Rather than waging another futile conflict and risking a new and improved terrorist threat a decade from now (ISIS is an offshoot of al-Qaeda), we should analyze how Mel Brooks uses satire to mock Hitler and antisemitism. From History of the World to Springtime for Hitler, one of the greatest mass murderers in history is reduced to a figure skater and the Spanish Inquisition is turned into an irreverent musical. Satire and comedy take the luster off savagery. This is why Hitler rapping or screaming “Heil myself!” is so funny. It’s also why people getting tortured in History of the World’s Spanish Inquisition scene is so amusing.

This strategy will also work against ISIS. Satire can destroy the foundations of terrorist recruitment methods since it unmasks the insanity of zealotry. Laughter doesn’t work well when convincing anther human being to strap a bomb and commit suicide. The more people laughing at ISIS, the less it will be able to market itself as the defender of a warped interpretation of Islam. This brand of humor is why Lebanon’s ISIS-mocking Ktir Salbe Show and other examples of extremist defeating satire have sprung up in the Middle East.

People “lacking a sense of identity” simply won’t want to join an organization that is being mocked by the entire world and especially by its own people. Comedy and satire also allow us to see ISIS for what it really is; dangerous but not the nuclear weapons pointed at us during the Cold War….”

I checked the Hollywood Reporter article. It is rather interesting, the screenshots of those who thought the skit was tasteless, not the article.

NY Post

I noticed something interesting. The Hollywood Reporter linked to a Twitter account to show the outrage against the skit. It is a spam account. The tweet has already been deleted.

Hollywood Reporter

Also deleted:

Twitter

Another tweet which was linked by the Hollywood Reporter is also a spam account.

Twitter

So were the comments, which leads me to something else. What sort of person comments on the Hollywood Reporter? Can you be so shallow?

Hollywood Reporter

It took awhile to come to any sort of conclusion about who found the skit offensive. There are two groups. Evidently those who are shallow followers of pop culture were not amused. Neither was the extreme right. I’m still trying to figure that one out, but I can’t. The only possible answer is they have no sense of humor.

“…The truth is that the war on terrorism has always been a war on an ideology; nobody in the world can bomb an ideology out of a group of people. We’ve already tried wars and al-Qaeda simply morphed into ISIS. In addition to military force, there needs to be a way to undermine the ideology used to foster terrorist recruitment. Otherwise, endless wars will be fought by an endless supply of people willing to die for an absurd cause.

“SNL’s” skit was a prime example of how satire can highlight the insanity that fuels ISIS to commit its atrocities. If you didn’t laugh at this, then you don’t understand comedy and you’ve failed to appreciate the nature of satire. Satire, unlike a bullet, can actually kill an ideology….”

Satire is an ancient form of political commentary and parody. Some say it was invented by Aristophanes. What on earth do you think Springtime for Hitler Is?

Bierce, Ambrose, The Devil’s Dictionary

Defoe, Daniel, The True-Born Englishman

The Savoy Operas of Gilbert and Sullivan

Gogol, Nikolai, Dead Souls

Groening, Matthew ‘Matt’, The Simpsons

Kubrick, Stanley, Dr. Strangelove

Lewis, Clive Staples, The Screwtape Letters

Mercer, Richard ‘Rick’, The Rick Mercer Report

Pope, Alexander, The Rape of the Lock

Reiner, Rob, This Is Spinal Tap

Twain, Mark, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Bradbury, Ray, Fahrenheit 451

Bulgakov, Mikhail, Heart of a Dog

Burgess, Anthony, A Clockwork Orange

Golding, William, Lord of the Flies

Heller, Joseph, Catch-22

Huxley, Aldous, Brave New World

Orwell, George, Nineteen Eighty-Four

Orwell, George, Animal Farm

Swift, Jonathan, Gulliver’s Travels

Chaplin, Charlie, The Great Dictator

Brooks, Mel, Springtime for Hitler (from the Producers)

Colbert, Stephen, The Colbert Report

Lear, Norman, All in the Family

I love this:

This is what good satire is all about. It can insult, make you think, cringe, and even laugh. This is satire at its best. It can only exist in a free society. When satire is limited, and those who produce it censored, freedom dies.

One of the ways you beat ISIS is through satire. It’s rather like the classic episode, Day of the Dove, with, ironically, Syrian born actor, Michael Ansara, playing Kang. An a group of Klingons and a limited crew of the Enterprise were hurling through space, violently killing one another, until James T. Kirk realized that they had been invaded by an alien who used violent emotions for food. When they finally realized what had happened, they banded together and defeated the creature by throwing down their weapons and laughing at it.

ISIS could be stopped if it were satirized round the clock, by anyone and everyone. One reason it gets such press is because of young people who are joining it. They’re basically killing off recruits, in the Middle East. You start making fun of it, and you dry up recruits. No one wants to work for a joke.

Since when has Saturday Night Live ever exercised good taste?

]]>http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/03/03/has-isis-already-won/feed/0http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/03/03/has-isis-already-won/Oh Dear, Your Yankee Racism Is Showinghttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ThePinkFlamingo/~3/BNVmipdnCOM/
http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/03/02/oh-dear-your-yankee-racism-is-showing/#commentsMon, 02 Mar 2015 11:30:27 +0000http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/?p=43017...Read the Rest]]>Why do people, even today, think that the South is more racist than any other part of the country? Have you stopped to look at the actual statistics? Evidently the North is more segregated, and more racist than the deep South, even though there are more ‘hate’ groups in the South. Of course there are. It’s the nature of the beast. People who constantly denigrate the South, don’t now it. Every state in this nation has pockets of racism and hate. To think otherwise is just plain stupid. If you really want to crunch numbers, you’ll find the worst of the lot are in Idaho, Montana, the Dakotas, and Utah. They are sparely populated so we just don’t see it. What you need to understand about the South is the good-old-boy attitude. While you might find them expressing certain racist tendencies in a corporate setting, get to know people, individually. You might be shocked. If you know the South, you know that it isn’t do you have a family member who is gay or lesbian, but which side of the family. Cousin So-And-So is married to someone of a different race, no big deal. Oh, but we don’t like Barack Obama – because we’re conservative and listen to FOX News, Rush Limbaugh, and Glenn Beck. It’s not personal and for the most part, it isn’t racist. It’s liberal vs. conservative.

In 2010, California reported more hate crimes than any other state. About a year ago, the DOJ released the findings of a 7 year study on hate crimes, per capta per 100,000. The results are shocking. We’re told that the South is full of racism and hate.

States with the least hate crimes reported, ranked from bottom:

Alabama – 6

Louisiana – 4

Iowa – 8

Georgia – 21

Pennsylvania – 38

Wyoming – 2

Maryland – 35

Illinois – 84

Florida – 144

New Mexico – 2

States with the highest number of hate crimes, ranked from the top:

District of Columbia – 72

Michigan – 617

New Jersey – 549

North Dakota – 41

Kentucky – 194

Tennessee – 317

Connecticut – 149

Nevada – 91

Washington – 272

Maine – 52

South Dakota – 29

New York – 715

Colorado – 189

Utah – 102

Montana – 36

Here’s the thing, with the exception of Tennessee, do you see any Southern states in this list?

Hate Crime Map

I am getting sick and tired of hearing good liberals tell me how nasty and racist the South is, without them having ever lived there. I spent most of my life in the South. Yes, it is racist. The worst racists I’ve ever encountered are in Florida. Unfortunately, more than a few of them are my so-called relatives. What is ironic there is that my generation is far more bigoted and racist than were my grandparents. Some of the scariest rednecks I’ve ever encountered are in north Florida. They make Deliverance look like a little Sunday afternoon spin on the lake. I grew up in and came of age in the north-west corner of South Carolina, about 100 miles from Atlanta, and then in Atlanta. Sorry, but in Oconee County, our schools were very quickly and logically integrated. We prided ourselves on NOT being racist. There were parts of rural western North Carolina which were so bad, my father would not allow his black truck drivers to make deliveries in those locations. It was too dangerous. By the early 1980s, his black driver (only driver) was making long-haul deliveries from Oconee County to North Florida, North Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Virginia, and Georgia. Pete was treated with respect and dignity – which he not only deserved, but was deserving of. At that time, people were treated equally.

Then, by the mid-1990s, far right libertarians, separatists, and truly disgusting individuals began moving, especially into South Carolina. They were, and I repeat, were transplants from the North and Midwest. The Christian Exodus movement, which is involved with the racist League of the South, was founded by Cory Burnell, who is NOT from the south, but California. His racist movement is also directly tied with Tea Party Libertarians. This is where it started. I was there. I watched it happen. I fought against it. I watched these people move in, and take over, spreading their own special little version of libertarian racism with them.

The thing is, even today, South Carolina isn’t even at the top of the chart when it comes to hate crimes, racism, and segregation. But, that doesn’t matter, does it. Perception is all that matters. Because of its past, because of what happened before and after the Civil War, the South must be constantly reviled by well meaning people who only know what they’ve read. I don’t know about you, but I’m getting sick of it. Let the statistics speak for themselves.

W Post

There is a much-heralded study stating that, because of the racist action on Twitter, that the south is more racist. It is corrupt, but, interestingly, with the exception of Illinois and Pennsylvania, corruption and racism don’t go hand in hand.

Mississippi

Louisiana

Tennessee

Illinois

Pennsylvania

Alabama

Alaska

South Dakota

Kentucky

Florida

The most segregated cities in America? Granted, today’s average American doesn’t know much about geography, but, aside from Miami, which is NOT considered Southern, please, point out one of these cities which are in the racist South? Oh, the most racist city in the US – Boston.

“…The main thing about Cincinnati is not that it’s the city itself that’s racist, it’s everything around it. You have to go around the I-275 circle to find the real racism in that town. And it’s a more subtle racism. Those places are filled with people who are annoyed that the world is too “politically correct” for them to tell that awesome racist joke that they just heard. These “Cincinnatians” live 20 miles outside town cause the black people started moving out of the inner city and at the current rate they might be living in Columbus in 20 years (Oh wait, that’s a GAY-friendly town so FUCK THAT)

Personal Anecdote: I was driving with my girlfriend and we ended up driving by Music Hall, which is probably the most beautiful building in the city, which also meant that we drove into Over-the-Rhine which is a pretty harsh inner city area. Now it’s only about 4 or 5 in the afternoon during the summer, so it’s very light outside. As I’m driving through the neighborhood, my girlfriend (she lived far outside the city) is SQUIRMING in her seat. She starts pleading with me to get her out of there. She basically starts yelling at me to get her out of there. It’s early afternoon, the only people there are just some homeless people milling around but nothing crazy.. There was literally nothing happening around us. This girl’s view was so warped that she thought the instant we stepped downtown we had at least a 50/50 shot we’d get shot cause of black people. I no longer date this woman…”

NY Times

Then there is violent crime. Once again, the rankings of violence do not coincide with rankings with racism or hate crimes – with one exception- Tennessee. 2013

“…New Mexico’s violent crime rate rose 6.6% between 2012 and 2013 — the most in the nation — to nearly 597 per 100,000 residents. The increase in violent crime came despite Governor Susana Martinez’s avowal in 2011 to be tough on crime. As in other dangerous states, the concentration of crime in New Mexico’s larger cities may have contributed to the state’s crime problem. Albuquerque, for example, the state’s largest city, had an estimated crime rate of 775 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, more than twice the national rate. New Mexico residents were also among the nation’s poorest in 2013, with a median household income of $43,872 and a poverty rate of nearly 22%….”

New Mexico is considered one of the least bigoted states in the country, with one of the fewest instances of hate crimes reported. Once again, it proves that violence does not necessarily correspond with racism. You might want to note that the list of states with the highest rates of racism and hate crimes does not include the following:

Texas

South Carolina

Georgia

Alabama

Misssissippi

North Carolina

Virginia

Louisiana

If the South is so evil, and so racist, why aren’t these states leading the way with hate? What is even more interesting is that these are the states fighting hate crime legislation. Yet, the states where there is an established pattern of racism and hate have legislation in progress or already established. They are also the most segregated

Go figure?

Perhaps it isn’t good to assume. Sure, right now, like every other part of the nation where Red States rule, the South is making a fool of itself. But, ironically, that doesn’t seem to correspond to actual racism, segregation, and hate crimes.

Why do people denigrate the South so much?

As far as all those nasty Tweets about Barack Obama out of the South. Wait until next year. If the Democratic nominee is a woman, it will be nasty. If the nominee is a white male, it will be the same. It’s payback for how the Democrats treated George W. Bush. The problem is, when the GOP gets someone in office, the Dems will attack with just as much viciousness. Trust me, I’ve been attacked by liberals and conservatives. They’re both attack, bully, and hate – equally. Only the cause is different.

There’s one other little thing. A tremendous amount of the bias against the South is the growing liberal animosity to Christianity. As a Christian, I’m beginning to find it to be disgusting. It is an acceptable bigotry. It is also one of the reasons the South is so hated – the Bible Belt.

“…Fat people are selfish people …just as most extremes and excesses are not tolerated nor should society excuse this new and shameful human epidemic…How about you all just stay in your homes rather than inflicting the sight and smell of your flab on us…I feel bad for ultra-obese people who smell bad. It must be awful for them…Fat people are simply greedy, lacking self respect and self restraint; thy must lean that only they themselves are to blame for their disgusting condition….”

This is the hard, cruel reality.

“…We all think we know someone in that rare group. They become the legends — the friend of a friend, the brother-in-law, the neighbour — the ones who really did it.But if we check back after five or 10 years, there’s a good chance they will have put the weight back on. Only about five per cent of people who try to lose weight ultimately succeed, according to the research. Those people are the outliers, but we cling to their stories as proof that losing weight is possible….”

UK MIrror

It all started the other day with an Alternet article about a woman who is obese, and has an active sex life. You can imagine the comments – maybe. The problem with comments like this, is any woman who is not an acceptable size is treated this way, subjected to cruel, vicious and humiliating remarks, which can show up, any time and any place. On line, the bullying only gets worse. After this week, I can easily understand why a teenage girl, who is emotionally fragile, would evolve an eating disorder. I can also understand how such bullying could lead to depression and suicide attempts. Quite frankly, the abuse turns up anywhere, but, having lived with liberals and conservatives, but, having faced their cruel bullying, I think some of the worst abuse I’ve encountered is from the ultra liberal and perhaps even libertarian base of Alternet. They are the most abusive and the nastiest bullies..

Alternet

“…Plus size is the woman who shows up at the local pizza parlor buffet wearing bullet proof polyester BROWN pants (stretched to the max) wolfing down incredible amounts of food – and uses a walker to stabilize her massive body while she loads her plate….The fashion industry can’t believe anyone is larger than a Size 10 because nobody else can, either. Being overweight for too long is unhealthy, irresponsible, and aggravating for those who really don’t like their health care costs going up every year. If you really want to make clothes for the super-sized, how about a pair of pants with only one leg? Won’t need two for very long….”

Everyday Feminism

“…The term “plus-size” causes anger because the distinction inherently shames the woman concerned—and it gets worse. It can be bad enough to have your clothes described in the decidedly unsexy way as “plus-size.”

It is the final indignity to see a svelte woman who doesn’t remotely resemble your body to be labeled “plus size.” It’s almost as if the fashion industry is pretending that such a model somehow represents you and speaks to your body struggles or, worse, tacitly implies you should aim to look like her….”

The Chronicle of Higher Education

“…She told me that her team did a lot of collaborative work in this lab, and she didn’t need someone who was going to “eat more than their fair share of the pizza, if you know what I mean.”…”

Anyone who has battled their weight, their entire life, knows only too well what this person wrote in a comment. The problem is, there are haters in any group of people, no matter how thin. No one wants to accept the cold hard reality of life. The worst part is if you study the statistics on various surgeries for weight loss, 80% of those who have the surgery will have, within 10 years, gained back the weight they lost, while sacrificing their health.

Everyday Feminism

“…I am a Physician, and I am annoyed at these comments; …a bunch of people who are fixed on keeping their prejudice that over-weight people are lazy & eat stupid junk, while they are superior ( Some-day this will seem like the “Against Women’s Sufferage” crowd, who from 1885 to 1919 kept women from voting because they believed girls were inherently too stupid to vote ! ) I’ve been a family doctor for 25 yrs & followed thousands… only a very few can lose over 30 lbs …& they have to have gone from terrible in-active beer-drinking fast-food life-style to one full of exercise & spa-salad food. Lots of other people eat well already, indulge occasionally, and walk a lot, but are still over-weight …so, you should not judge every-one you see !! Usually, if I see a weight-loss of more than 25 lbs, I expect to be looking for cancer. This is truth and NOT new info. My University of Toronto classmate & eminent McMaster physician, James Douketis, authored a review of “Non-Surgical Treatment of Obesity” published in Dec 2006, in the journal “Canadian Family Physician” : His conclusion after reviewing all programs of “Diet & / or Exercise” ? People do NOT lose weight; total weight loss is 2 to 4 lbs after 2 years.(NB. the naturally-skinny can’t gain weight, either.) Genetics, combined with our infancy-and-childhood diet. There is a lot of bullying and a lot of self-hate over weight, and it is un-justified misery. There are people who have health-reasons to need to lose 50 lbs, that’s true … I send them to surgery….”

UK Daily Mail

Once upon a time when Voyager II was flying by Saturn, I was covering the mission at the JPL in Pasadena. One afternoon, after a morning spent flirting with one of the greatest astronomers of recent years, I decided to go to the mall. I needed a specific kind of necklace to wear to a banquet the following evening. I was having a quick lunch in the food court. While I was eating, and reading, a group of young males sat down behind me. Every time I took a bite, they started making pig sounds. I threw my lunch away and left. They followed me through the mall, making pig noises and calling me a fat pig. I should have reported them to security, but I was too humiliated.

Everyday Feminist

“…Stigmatization based on body weight can lead to a devalued social identity and the stigmatized people are often ascribed stereotypes or other labels denoting a perceived deviance which can lead to prejudice and discrimination. Common, “weight-based”, stereotypes are that obese persons are lazy, lack self-discipline, and have poor willpower, but also possess defects of intelligence and character. Other common weight-based stereotypes of obese persons are that obese persons are unattractive, unhealthy, have a bad diet and/or don’t exercise. Pervasive social portrayals of obesity create and reinforce biased attitudes….”

UK Daily Mail

I’m not perfect. I’ll never be thin. But, because I’ve never been thin there is one condition which is going to leave me alone. That’s a very good thing. In my family it is lethal, and attacks anyone who is thin. It is called osteoporosis. If you’ve ever seen anyone who has the disease, well, I’d rather have people make fun of me, now, than go through what my mother, who was always way too thin, is going through today.

Osteoporosis is, when it reaches late states, as painful as bone cancer. Any little movement can cause a break. One broken hip and a woman suffering from osteoporosis is dead. My sister and I live in horror with our mother. Her osteoporosis is now so bad, her bones are breaking on their own. It killed her mother. But – it will never get me.

Yep, I’m fat. I’m old, and feel horribly unattractive. But, about 20 years from now, when all those cute little thin skanks are walking around, bent over, with a hideous hump on their back the size of a basketball, well, I’ll be the old fat chick having fun.

Space… the final frontier. These are the continuing voyages of the starship Enterprise. Her ongoing mission: to explore strange new worlds… to seek out new lifeforms, and new civilizations… to boldly go where no man has gone… before.

This is one of those articles I never wanted to write, so I’m not going to write it. Instead, I’m going to wax poetic on the legacy, and the way great men and women can take responsibility for making the world a better place. One of the reason the universe created by Gene Roddenberry, the Great Bird of the Galaxy is so enduring is because of the message, which is one of hope and optimism. It was a vision where men and women were equal, there was no racial divide, with no gender bias.

“…“Leonard Nimoy was an inspiration to multiple generations of engineers, scientists, astronauts, and other space explorers. As Mr. Spock, he made science and technology important to the story, while never failing to show, by example, that it is the people around us who matter most.

“NASA was fortunate to have him as a friend and a colleague. He was much more than the Science Officer for the USS Enterprise. Leonard was a talented actor, director, philanthropist, and a gracious man dedicated to art in many forms.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and the legions of Star Trek fans around the world.”…” Charles Bolden, Administrator – NASA

Gene Roddenberry, in a exclusive 2 hour interview with moi, discussed his legacy and his responsibility to the future. He understood the effect his creation had a profound effect on a certain mindset. Instead of taking advantage of a situation, he remained positive, and true to his legacy. He decided it might be possible to mold minds, guiding them toward the future he envisioned.

During my years as a lobbyist and founder and executive director of one of the largest space activist organization in the country, I decided to work with the world of science fiction. I was one of the first individuals who was hard science to attempt and incorporate the world of the Trekkie. In doing so, I understood exactly what Roddenberry was trying to do. There are always impressionable, young, men and women who are socially awkward and misfits. They made nerds look like social butterflies.

Gene Roddenberry was very much correct. We are seeing his theory about challenging people, and making sure they had positive influence by watching those souls who are recruited into terror. He was well aware that a certain segment of the population was easily led. He was decent enough to try and lead them into something positive.

The White House

For those of us who mourned the death of the Apollo program this was a moment of pure triumph. At that moment, the future was in space. We had this amazing machine, ready to be created. And – Jimmy Carter came along nearly destroying the program. In those days, Democrats were to big science what Republicans are today.

I don’t mind admitting I am an unrepentant Trekkie. It made such a profound impression on my life that it changed the very course of my life. As a little kid I was a space junkie. The moment I discovered the possibilities of science fiction, I wanted that world. I have spent my entire adult life trying to help that world become a reality.

There was something else, that Leonard Nimoy did in life. He was a talented photographer, specializing in female nudes. He also specialized in photographing large women, nude. His black and whites were amazing, treating the women who is to be forgotten as a work of art, with amazing dignity.

Space.com

When NASA needed to recruit women astronauts, they called in Nichelle Nichols.

Leonard Nimoy is part of one of the greatest cultural legacies of my generation.

]]>http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/28/where-no-one-has-gone-before/feed/0http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/28/where-no-one-has-gone-before/Psychopaths Make Great Terroristshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ThePinkFlamingo/~3/GBhGscjj3zo/
http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/27/psychopaths-make-great-terrorists/#commentsFri, 27 Feb 2015 11:37:26 +0000http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/?p=42973...Read the Rest]]>One of the things that bothers me about the way John Kerry manipulates the State Department and Barack Obama is they way he controls the message. Instead of facing up to the fact that the Administration allowed ISIS to explode, by not going after them, several years ago, when they were a bunch of nasty bullies slaughtering Christians in Syria, they decided to make Vladimir Putin the enemy. I am still trying to figure this one out, and keep coming up with one answer – it’s Kerry’s corruption, stupid. We’re also going to need to face the fact that Barack Obama (for whom I voted, and like as a person) appears to be incapable of making a decision when it comes to foreign policy. According to information I’m finding, the reason he is basically being bullied by Kerry. Susan Rice, his national security adviser, also appears to not agree with Kerry. Strangely enough, they also disagree with the new Secretary of Defense, Ash Carter, who is going along with Kerry. Both men are pushing us down a slippery path to World War III with Russia.

That is not what this rant is about, though. One of the excuses for allowing ISIS to explode in growth is that the rank and file poor little terrorist comes from a deprived background, while nothing can be farther from the truth – apparently. We are now learning that the infamous snuff-porn spokesman for ISIS, “Jihadi John” Mohammed Emwazi, is a very well educated, computer programmer, comes from a rather wealthy family living in London.

“...On Feb. 19 at the State Department, President Obama said that the link between oppression and violent extremism is “undeniable.” A spokeswoman for the State Department, Marie Harf, faced sharp criticism for saying on Feb. 16 that “if we can help countries work at the root causes of this, what makes these 17-year-old kids pick up an AK-47 instead of trying to start a business, maybe we can try to chip away at this problem, while at the same time going after the threat.”…”

The Administration’s narrative is that once we lift these poor terrorists out of poverty, they will change and become upstanding representatives of society There’s one problem here. If Emwazi grew up in poverty, how could his parents afford to send him on a safari? The worst part of this is that the well-intentioned politically correct mavens of the Administration are insulting people who live in poverty. I hate to break this to you, but no everyone who grows up in poverty becomes a terrorist.

If everyone who grew up in poverty, disadvantaged, and in harm’s way were to become terrorists, we would have several billion of them. But – we don’t. Just making the assumption that poverty breeds terrorists is an insult to the billions of decent men and women who have grown up in poverty, and live upstanding, exemplary lives.

“…The brains of psychopathic violent criminals have abnormalities in regions related to punishment that are not seen in the brains of violent criminals who are not psychopathic, according to new research using brain scans.

These MRI scans suggest that psychopaths don’t grasp punishment the same way as other people, the researchers said. This is likely why psychopaths do not benefit from rehabilitation programs, as other violent criminals often do, the scientists report today (Jan. 28) in the journal Lancet Psychiatry….”

Instead, perhaps it would be better for everyone to be honest and state that anyone who joins a group like ISIS, knowing what they do, seduced by their barbaric behavior is nothing short of a psychopath. They make up about 1% of the population. From Psychology Today:

“…What Eric Hoffer found, and what has often been overlooked by many sociologists and certainly by the general public, is that mass movements attract what we now call the psychopathic personality – in essence predators (link is external): individuals who are content in causing great harm, who perhaps are even sadistic, and yet aren’t bothered in the least by what they do.

Hoffer’s observation should not come as a great shock; after all, the Nazis had psychopaths in droves. Under the Swastika banner and while wearing brown shirts, they did horrible crimes without any regret—remember Kristallnacht?

Mass movements that utilize violence as part of their solution attract and even need psychopaths. After all, someone has to carry out the violent acts, the beheadings, the mass shootings, and the setting of humans on fire, even as these individuals plead for their lives. They need people who are callous, who can hurt others effortlessly because they have no conscience. They need people who are immune to the pleas of a grieving mother and who view a crying child as an inconvenience that also must die…”

Psych Central

If psychologists are correct about psychopaths being unable to process punishment, that it does no good, perhaps the quality of mercy when dealing with ISIS, is misplaced. Any individual who is seduced by Jihad John’s snuff-films of unspeakable barbarism are as evil as is he. If they don’t join ISIS, they will, eventually, left to their own resources slaughter the innocents here at home.

I still don’t take modern technology for granted. That, if anything, should date me has having been born way before the Digital Age. I am, though, a product of the Space Age. One of the most awesome (as in awe) aspects of having grown up watching our modern world evolve, is watching technology develop. I can remember, back in the mid 1980s, I wanted a computer. I did not want one of those annoying monsters we now call a desktop. I wanted a laptop. I had to argue hard and fast about it, because they just weren’t being sold. They were using them in the shuttle program. At one of the early launches, I picked up contractor information about the ones they were using. I had to use the press information to show the guys a the local Radio Shack that yes, they did exist. I bought one of the first lap-tops put out by Tandy. It ran on two ‘hard disks’. You would change disks in order to do different things on it. It had a grand total of 8MG of disk space. No, not RAM. My next system was just a little word processing notebook, that actually held upward of 200MG of storage space. I wrote my first novel on it. My next system, an NEC, had 260MG of space. Please note that we’re not talking RAM here. Finally, I was able to upgrade to another NEC, where I could get 1MG of RAM, 500MG of space, and most importantly, I could use a modem card. I was then required to go through MCI, where each online session would appear on my bill. I was getting all of 15Kpbs. It was enough for me to be able to research melanoma, download and print out the information I needed, and to join my first forum. It may have been a snail’s crawl, but I learned enough to save my life. When I moved to New Mexico, I was able to get dial-up speed of 56Kpbs. I was in Nirvana! It is at this point it should be noted that PVT Telecom out of Roswell, still only provides a speed of about 126Kbps where my mother lives, and where I want to build. For this, they charge as much as I am paying for (allegedly) 12Mbps. That, though, is a different rant and rave. I think it may have been on Monday.

I was not able to get broadband until 2004. It is something I do not take for granted. I can’t. When you live where I do, or do a bit of traveling, you soon realize how iffy quality broadband service is. We now live in a country where libertarians threaten to over-run our world, and demand that only the strong survive, leaving the rest of we the little people wallowing in the gutter, while they kick us. This nation needs a broadband infrastructure the way we allegedly have a highway and telecommunication infrastructure. If we are indeed entering into a new digital age, then those of us, who live in the middle of nowhere – and pay a mountain of taxes, just like those who live in cities – are being left behind, very quickly. Everyone in this country should have access to true broadband. Unfortunately, we do not.

When I stay with my mother, I do not have access to something as remarkable as a live, webcast from Vienna. I don’t even have viable access to the Metropolitan Opera on Demand. Oh, I do, but, the cost is so high at $10/GB via Verizon, that it is not possible to use it. Neither are any of the movie download sites, with streaming. Forget about even downloading a movie from iTunes. The cost of that fiasco is also $10/GB via Verizon. Forget about even opening a business in an area where there is no viable broadband. I can’t even work on edits of my fashion book. This nation is soon going to have yet another great divide – those with viable broadband, and those who do not have access. Those who do not have access will be left behind, trust me.

If you haven’t picked up on it, yet (duh) I am an opera freak. I also happen to be a self-confessed baritone junkie. Okay, I’m a baritone freak, potential stalker (safe, pathetic, not dangerous), groupie, fanatic, and so forth and so on. The greatest of them all, Sherrill Milnes, once told me I had so many autographed photos of him, I have enough to wallpaper my bathroom. For the record, I only have two. But, I think it does prove my point.

Over the years, I’ve seen some of the greatest opera has ever produced – live: Sherrill Milnes, Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti, Beverly Sills, Renata Scotto, Jerome Hines, Leontyne Price (rehearsal), Robert Merrill, Birgit Nilsson, Régine Crespin, James Morris, Samuel Ramey, Hildegard Behrens, Nicolai Gedda, Alfredo Krause, Cornell MacNeil, Joan Sutherland, Marilyn Horne, Thomas Hampson, Tatiana Troyanos, Paul Plishka, and so forth and so on. I was there at the Met, the night of Milnes and Domingo’s legendary concert. I saw Pavarotti at least a half dozen times. I don’t even know how many times I’ve seen Domingo. As for Milnes, let’s just say when he did a recital here in NM, near where I live, he wanted to know what on earth I was doing – there. I told him I lived about 10 miles from the theater.

But – I’ve never even seen the baritone who put the hunk in barihunk, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, live, even on screen – until today. When you live in the middle of nowhere, USA, you don’t even have access to the Met’s Live in HD. The nearest theater for me is a good 3 hour drive. Once upon a time, I had 2nd row, season tickets at the Met, flying back and forth from SC to NYC at least twice a month during the opera season. Today, I refuse to even consider flying.

The problem with not being able to see someone perform, live is that you don’t really know who they are. You get to know an artist through their work, a writer through their books. In order to understand who an opera singer is, you need to see them perform, in an opera, live. Finally, I was able to watch Hvorostovsky.

It’s like this, he compares very favorably to Sherrill Milnes. I’ve seen video, YouTube, and Met on Demand of his Live in HD performances. It isn’t the same. They are edited. You don’t see all the nuances. Like Milnes, he dominates the stage. During curtain calls, you learn a lot, watching how performers leave, the order in which they do, how they interact. Once again, it is total control of the stage. As far as curtain calls, the man is amazingly gracious. Perhaps he is the most gracious performer I’ve seen, and, like I said, I’ve seen many of the greats.

Daniele Abbado’s production of Don Carlo at the Vienna State Opera (Wiener Staatsoper) was interesting, inoffensive, but interesting. I’m a purist. I want costumes which are as accurate as possible, but, then, again, I’m a fashion history person. The costumes were, well, they were inoffensive. Hvorostovsky wore ‘the shirt’. When a baritone wears ‘the shirt’ we know the production is going to respect women.

Something else I’ve noticed, aside from the 2nd greatest baritone voice I’ve ever heard (Milnes being the greatest) the man can act. I thought the sight of Sherrill Milnes, as Don Giovanni, doing an Errol Flynn, flying across the stage at the end of the first act was the ultimate. Watching Hvorostovsky’s Rodrigo being shot, hitting the stage, and his death scene was even better – exhausting, draining, but better.

The best news for a baritone junkie like moi, is that Dmitri Hvorostovsky is going to be doing Don Carlos at the Met in just a few weeks. My favorite baritone, my favorite Verdi role, my favorite Verdi opera – I’m happy.

]]>http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/26/broadband-baritones-opera-living-in-the-middle-of-nowhere-usa/feed/0http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/26/broadband-baritones-opera-living-in-the-middle-of-nowhere-usa/Never Good Enoughhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ThePinkFlamingo/~3/l1pnEMGm3RA/
http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/25/never-good-enough/#commentsWed, 25 Feb 2015 11:30:22 +0000http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/?p=42955...Read the Rest]]>I wish this were just about me. Unfortunately, it isn’t. If you start looking, I suspect at least 20% of women in this country have the same story. Shame and humiliation does not allow the story to be told. If you would only lose weight, you would have such a pretty face.

Yep – that’s me – the day I turned 18. I wasn’t good enough, and was on a perpetual died.

I was looking at photos of me, when I was in high school. I wore anywhere from a size 9 to 11. Yet, I was not good enough. It all started when I was in the 2nd grade. The chart on the doctor’s wall said I should weigh about 20 pounds less than I did. At the time, I weighed about 75 pounds, and was 4 feet, eight inches tall. Today, that would be just about perfect, but then, I was put on a diet. I was only 7 years old. Every morning I was weighed. My weight was written down on a calender. I was not allowed to drink water with my meals. My intake of carbs was restricted. I was allowed melba toast, and could eat hamburger steak. I gained weight. When I was in the 3th grade, once again, I was on a diet. By that time, I had achieved my total height of 5 feet tall. I weighed 92 pounds. Today, that would be perfect. Instead, I was put on a diet.

When we were allowed to go to McDonalds for our annual birthday meal, my mother would pull most of the bread away from my burger. I was not allowed to have the milk shake. If I wanted mashed potatoes, I would end up crying for them. I was still not allowed to have cold water with my meals. I love cold water with my meals. I could, though, drink hot tea and have a life-saver to prevent hunger.

I craved soda and chips. Of course I did. My mother was the food police. Our meals were perfectly balanced without a hint of desserts. No sweats were allowed. We were required to eat breakfast, which I still do not like.

It was good enough. New clothes, for me, were predicated on weight loss. There was a wonderful dress shop in Greenville. I was never encouraged to find something in a larger size. If I wanted a cute dress, I was required to diet into it. I never did. Very rarely did I live the shop with something new to wear. Instead, I would leave in tears, humiliated.

When I started high school, the dress I wore was a size 9. I was still on a diet. A year later, when I landed a job in a local dress shop, I finally had clothes that I wanted, when I wanted them, because I bought them myself.

I would diet, lose weight, then gain it all back, and the some. I wore a size 11 and 13 when I started to college. I was told I was too heavy, and, once again, I dieted my way through school. It was the story of my life. I would diet, lose weight, feel good about myself, then gain even more weight. There is a name for it – YoYo Dieting. It literally dooms the person to a never ending cycle of loss and gain until you system is so destroyed, normal food consumption equates weight gain

Because of this, I ache for children today. They are to be humiliated and reminded of their weight. Never mind just telling girls they are beautiful, and teach healthy eating – without food deprivation. Girls like this end up losing their baby weight. Those who were never good enough, always on a forced diet like I was, rarely do.

Not only that but it starts us out wrong in life. We’re imprinted with the notion that we aren’t good enough, and never will be, until we’re the perfect weight. It starts us on a life doomed to failure because we weren’t good enough to lose weight. It taints the way we see ourselves, our approach to relationships, and to life in general.

We are not good enough.
We never have been and we never will be.

This is the lesson of today’s anti-obesity campaign.

I was watching something the other night. The woman had battled her weight all her life. Her mother kept telling her that she would have such a pretty face if only she lost weight. A good 20 years ago I had someone tell that to me. My reply was that if I had a pretty face, weight would make no difference. If I did not, being thin would not matter, either.

]]>http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/25/never-good-enough/feed/0http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/25/never-good-enough/Polite Political Discourse: A Concept Whose Time Has Comehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ThePinkFlamingo/~3/0dalBjltSho/
http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/24/polite-political-discourse-a-concept-whose-time-has-come/#commentsTue, 24 Feb 2015 11:39:03 +0000http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/?p=42950...Read the Rest]]>I quit.
I give up.
No more.
Zip
Nada
Zilch
No mas!
I’m no longer part of certain forms of political discourse.
If you can’t politely criticize, then shut up.
We need to lift up, not destroy.
I reserve the right to criticize.
I refuse to be a circling vulture.

I think Rudy Giuliani did a great service to political discourse in this country. By literally stepping it, and going where he should not have gone, he showed how far we have strayed from just plain old common sense, political decency. Political discourse on both the right and the left has reached the point where it is perfectly acceptable to destroy someone else, as long as you are preaching to the choir. A few years ago he would never have said what he did. Today, though, no harm no foul. The only ones who criticizing him in an over-the-top manner for criticizing Barack Obama just make him look better, to certain constituencies. Nice no longer matters. No one is going to notice nice. We live in an era of bullies, trolls, and vicious personal attacks. If you don’t take part in one side of the other, well, forget being noticed.

In the war of words, it’s tit for tat, who flung dung, a war of words, kill or be killed, and who gives a damn how bad you hurt someone else, or how bad you ruin your own reputation. It’s about ambush politics. It’s about a general degradation of manners and civility in general. The worst of it, is the fact that partisan politics have become so juvenile and childish that people forget some basic facts of life. When attacked, people respond. In politics, it’s rather like who came first, the chicken or the hen?

The media parodied Reagan.

Certain conservative factions wanted equal time.

Pissed conservatives showed no restraint when attacking the Clintons.

Rush Limbaugh was born. He was originally about parody and was funny.

Emboldened, the attacks on Hillary Clinton & Chelsea Clinton were over the top.

When GWB became POTUS, the left counter attacked.

The attacks on GWB were far worse than anything the right did to Clinton.

But – the left was decent enough NOT to attack the Bush family.

When Barack Obama became POTUS, the far right struck back – viciously.

The next GOP POTUS will face even nastier attacks – from the left.

It is now all out political war, take no prisoners, search and destroy using a scorched earth policy. But sides attempt to bully opposition into submission. The left refuses to even consider that they are somewhat responsible for the fact that there is no polite discourse in DC, because of their scorched earth policy against George W. Bush. Yes, a portion of the attacks on Barack Obama are racial in origin, but to say that most of them are is short-sighted, and intellectually dishonest. It doesn’t matter who is the opposition POTUS. Their character, personal life, decency, good traits, and humanity no longer matter. It is kill and then be killed.

I don’t know about you, but I’m sick and tired of it. I’m not going to participate, either way. I will criticize, but I’m not going to destroy. I want to reserve the right to be equally critical of both sides. I’ve gone after the right, for years. The hatred and insanity I’ve experienced, from the far right, is why I can no longer consider myself a Republican. And, up front, no I’ve not switched parties. I live in a state where there is basically one political party. Even being registered as a Democrat is a joke. Independents are not allowed to vote in any primary. My preference, these days, is to be independent, primarily because I still consider myself a political moderate. Frankly, I love the freedom it gives me.

First, Barack Obama was both factually and intellectual wrong when he made statements attacking Christians at the National Prayer Breakfast. He implied that the Crusades were started by Christians who did nothing but slaughter their way across Europe, to the Holy Lands. Nothing can be farther from the truth. One of the interesting little things I’ve recently discovered is that it is very difficult to find any real and accurate information about the Crusades online. Like the alleged ‘history’ of pseudo-historian David Barton, which gobbles up factual accuracy and replaces it with an agenda, I’ve discovered the new history of the Crusades gobble up factual accuracy and replace it with an agenda that Islam is a religion of peace.

What Barack Obama said insulted me, as a Christian. I voted for him. As a historian, who at one time specialized in the early Middle Ages, I was disgusted, and disappointed. I have no problem pointing out the factual inaccuracies of the new fake, far right history. I’m going to do the same here. Events do not happen in a vacuum. I’m tired of the lies of both the right and the left when it comes to history. I’m also tired of being bullied by both sides when you point out their historical lies. There is an agenda on the right, where so-called historians are faking history. During my research into the disappearing factual history of the Crusades, I’ve discovered the same thing is going on there. I’m also discovering the so-called ‘liberal’ attacks on Christians, favoring atheists are coming, in part, from various so-called liberal Muslims. Yes, there is an agenda. Nature abhors a vacuum. It is quite logical that followers of Islam would do what so-called Christians are doing when it comes to creating their own agenda.

Unfortunately, it is logical.

There is always an agenda. That’s life. We are being required to turn ourselves into contortionists to appease the liberal agenda, which becomes more and more outrageous by the week. I’ve been using liberal sources since I began blogging nearly 10 years ago. I have found them to be more accurate than those of the right. Something has changed, probably during the past 10 months. Those sources, many of them, are now as inaccurate as those on the right.

Why?

I’m sick and tired of it. I no longer want any part of it. Let’s be upfront and honest and attempt to change political discourse in this country. Until we do, we have a total and complete mess. I do think we moderates need to take back our message and our country. I want to be able to criticize both sides.

]]>http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/24/polite-political-discourse-a-concept-whose-time-has-come/feed/0http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/24/polite-political-discourse-a-concept-whose-time-has-come/The Great Digital Dividehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ThePinkFlamingo/~3/1i6sqSG4prQ/
http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/23/the-great-digital-divide/#commentsMon, 23 Feb 2015 11:37:03 +0000http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/?p=42937...Read the Rest]]>Until moving from South Carolina, I always lived in a very rural area. My complaints were always about not being able to order a pizza and not having cable. Where I lived, no matter how they are developing it, still does not have cable. I loved traveling because I could watch something other than the Big Three networks. Finally, after a long trip, in the late 1980s, I put in a dish. It was twice the size of the one I have now, but it was wonderful. Looking back on it, the best part was the fact that I could get just about every game the Braves played. At the time, having my father, his golden, and sometimes his cat, constantly underfoot, was annoying. Now, though, after he is gone, I realize how special it was.

I first went online in 1997. By then, I was working on my forth laptop. I was required to use MCI. Every second was counted. Each month I’d get a print-out about my online usage, which was, at the time, lightening fast – dial-up. When I moved, and had cable, and a new internet company, I was thrilled to be able to bounce up to 56K. DSL was offered via cable, but by that time, where I lived had been taken off cable and a system set up internally. In 2003, they were able to get 1.5Mbps at the church office where I worked. I was in heaven! When Windstream finally offered a digital service where I am, I had to battle. It was primarily gender based. Over the years, I’ve gone from 1.5 to what is allegedly to be 15mbps.

My current speed ranges anywhere from from 3 to 15. As I write this, I am testing download speed at 11.3Mbps. I am slower than 43% of the country. The average speed for Windstream is 4.1Mbps. My upload speed is 416 Kbps. It is 89% slower than the rest of the country, which is 3.8Mpbs.

The new FCC definitions of broadband are: up from 4Mbps to 25Mbps. Yea, right. Upload speed should be minimum upload speed should be 1Mbps to 3Mbps. Forget that. The only way I can achieve 3Mbps is via my Verizon cellular hot spot. Right now, that’s 6.5Mbps. My upload speed is 276Kbps, which is 93% slower than Verizon’s average. Last week, while I was using it, my upload speed via Verizon was about 3.3Mbps. It’s snowing, and I am in my basement bedroom. I’m not going to be hysterical over that test.

Currently, I am paying for 10GB of data via Verizon, simply because when I am at my mother’s home, she has no access to broadband. I’m paying a fortune to have just 10GB, which is not enough for me to do what I need to do, online, when I am staying with her. She uses PVT. This is what is available to her.

PVT

Anyone living within their system is NOT living in the digital age. And – where she lives, they only offer up to 768Kbps, and charge what I am paying for (allegedly) 15Mbps. Let’s be honest. Verizon is charging $100 bucks for 10GB. There’s not much difference. The service available with DirectTV, is basically $10/GB/month – the same as Verizon. Hughes does not offer service where she lives. This is what you get with Dish.

Dish

UNFORTUNATELY…. this is not offered where my mother lives. They offer maybe half, at a higher price. What Dish does is had this no rhyme nor reason location criteria. They also require you to discuss, with your husband, and children, what you will do with the service, THEN call them back. Yes, they are that insulting and biased. I can get a total of about 20GB, most of it off-peak, with Dish.

“…While you may not need a minimum download speed of 25Mbps to stream 4K content, it wouldn’t hurt, and standing pat with subpar US broadband capabilities just isn’t a viable option at this point. With the US currently ranked 25th in the world in broadband speeds, the FCC’s decision will force cable providers to step up speeds for everyone, something that probably would have happened with even a little competition in the broadband market.…”

According to John Chambers, CEO of CISCO, the world is going digital. Countries which do what Barcelona has done will roar ahead. Those locations where they do not, are going to be left behind. I think we all know where this is going. Let’s face it, the way things are now, in this country, we’re going to be left crawling in the dark ages.

The other day, I was involved in a Twitter back and forth with (certified) Barihunk, Jonathan Estabrooks about Net Neutrality. I started thinking about it, and the infrastructure problems I am facing. In a way, it is a cautionary tale about anyone living in nowhere USA. Without giving away exactly where my mother’s property is, here’s a map:

I have spent the past year researching a project which would involve this property:

I have spent 10 months crunching numbers, investigating plans, talking to people, working on feasibility, and dealing with infrastructure. Basically, aside from the fact that New Mexico is the most corrupt state in the country, and the most difficult state in North America when it comes to opening a new business, so far, everything is feasible.

BUT…. There is no reliable broadband service. What I need is requires an infrastructure that is based broadband. For me, the costs are prohibitive, on something, which, if it were located just a few miles up the road, would have minimal costs.

Dealing with New Mexico is one thing. Frankly, I don’t know if I even want to consider the project. After living here for nearly 15 years, I’ve learned how abjectly corrupt, backward, and well ….corrupt… this state is. I don’t even know if, the way things are going, this state even has a future. What I do know is I have a business plan which would actually work. There are numerous logistics and just any number of reasons why I should not do what I want to do. The worst of the problems is broadband. From what I can tell, the situation is not going to get any better, anytime soon.

How many other people are being held back because this country is so absolutely backward in our infrastructure. When libertarians take over, they impose their own, unique brand of socialism, which is only for those who are in power, and the elite money which puts them there. The rest of us are being slowly kicked into the gutter.

I have the perfect location for something I’ve dreamed about since 1978. Right now, the lack of broadband could ruin it. I need to relocate to that area, to be near my mother, when she is here in NM. The current situation is so constraining and so difficult, it even makes blogging difficult, let alone even listening Met online. Forget that one. You can do bare-bones digital, but, there is no iTunes downloads, no movies online, no television service, no Metropolitan Opera on Demand. I made the mistake of downloading a movie when I was at my mother’s home. The bill from Verizon, for just the privilege of downloading what should be free, was $20! It’s basically ten bucks a GB.

]]>http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/23/the-great-digital-divide/feed/1http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/23/the-great-digital-divide/Ash Wednesday Litanyhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ThePinkFlamingo/~3/gQkcwM7x7TI/
http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/22/ash-wednesday-litany/#commentsSun, 22 Feb 2015 11:20:14 +0000http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/?p=42933...Read the Rest]]>The Ash Wednesday Litany is for Ash Wednesday. Portions of it can also be used the first Sunday in Lent. I am using the Book of Common Prayer. I’ve done a bit of editing.

Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wickedness, may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen….

Dear People of God: The first Christians observed with great devotion the days of our Lord’s passion and resurrection, and it became the custom of the Church to prepare for them by a season of penitence and fasting. This is season of Lent provided a time in which converts to the faith were prepared for Holy Baptism. It was also a time when those who, because of notorious sins, had been separated from the body of the faithful were reconciled by penitence and forgiveness, and restored to the fellowship of the Church. Thereby, the whole congregation was put in mind of the message of pardon and absolution set forth in the Gospel of our Savior, and of the need which all Christians continually have to renew their repentance and faith.

I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word. And, to make a right beginning of repentance, and as a mark of our mortal nature, let us now kneel before the Lord, our maker and redeemer.

Psalm 51 Miserere mei, Deus

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your /loving-kindness; * in your great compassion blot out my offenses.

2 Wash me through and through from my wickedness * and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions, * and my sin is ever before me.

4 Against you only have I sinned * and done what is evil in your sight.

5 And so you are justified when you speak * and upright in your judgment

6 Indeed, I have been wicked from my birth, * a sinner from my mother’s womb.

7 For behold, you look for truth deep within me, * and will make me understand wisdom secretly.

8 Purge me from my sin, and I shall be pure; * wash me, and I shall be clean indeed.

9 Make me hear of joy and gladness, * that the body you have broken may rejoice.

10 Hide your face from my sins * and blot out all my iniquities.

11 Create in me a clean heart, O God, * and renew a right spirit within me.

12 Cast me not away from your presence * and take not your holy Spirit from me.

13 Give me the joy of your saving help again * and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit.

17 Had you desired it, I would have offered sacrifice; * but you take no delight in burnt-offerings.

18 The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit; * a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Litany of PenitenceThe Celebrant and People together, all kneeling

Most holy and merciful Father:We confess to you and to one another,and to the whole communion of saintsin heaven and on earth,that we have sinned by our own faultin thought, word, and deed;by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.

We have not loved you with our whole heart, and mind, and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not forgiven others, as we have been forgiven.Have mercy on us, Lord.

We have been deaf to your call to serve, as Christ served us. We have not been true to the mind of Christ. We have grieved your Holy Spirit.Have mercy on us, Lord.

We confess to you, Lord, all our past unfaithfulness: the pride, hypocrisy, and impatience of our lives,We confess to you, Lord.

Our self-indulgent appetites and ways, and our exploitation of other people,We confess to you, Lord.

Our anger at our own frustration, and our envy of those more fortunate than ourselves,We confess to you, Lord.

Our intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts, and our dishonesty in daily life and work,We confess to you, Lord.

Our negligence in prayer and worship, and our failure to commend the faith that is in us,We confess to you, Lord.

Accept our repentance, Lord, for the wrongs we have done: for our blindness to human need and suffering, and our indifference to injustice and cruelty,Accept our repentance, Lord.

For all false judgments, for uncharitable thoughts toward our neighbors, and for our prejudice and contempt toward those who differ from us,Accept our repentance, Lord.

For our waste and pollution of your creation, and our lack of concern for those who come after us,Accept our repentance, Lord.

Accomplish in us the work of your salvation,That we may show forth your glory in the world.

By the cross and passion of your Son our Lord,Bring us with all your saints to the joy of his resurrection.

Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who desires not the death of sinners, but rather that they may turn from their wickedness and live, has given power and commandment to his ministers to declare and pronounce to his people, being penitent, the absolution and remission of their sins. He pardons and absolves all those who truly repent, and with sincere hearts believe his holy Gospel.

Therefore we beseech him to grant us true repentance and his Holy Spirit, that those things may please him which we do on this day, and that the rest of our life hereafter may be pure and holy, so that at the last we may come to his eternal joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

]]>http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/22/ash-wednesday-litany/feed/0http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/22/ash-wednesday-litany/Pope Francis Lenten Messagehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ThePinkFlamingo/~3/T5xKGkphYrg/
http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/21/pope-francis-lenten-message/#commentsSat, 21 Feb 2015 11:25:10 +0000http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/?p=42929...Read the Rest]]>Lent is my favorite time of the entire Christian calender. There are some who say it is about what you ‘give up’, but according to Fr. Ron, you don’t give something up, to take the practice back up after Easter. You do something which will enrich your life – spiritually. Lent is about introspection. Originally, it was as much about a season of fasting and simplicity, in order for homes and communities to make due until spring. One of the reasons only fish was eaten was to prevent the slaughter of pregnant animals and new born animals, which were needed to sustain life, throughout the year. Lent gave way to Easter – the Resurrection of Christ, to rebirth, and life.

Lent is a time of renewal for the whole Church, for each communities and every believer. Above all it is a “time of grace” (2 Cor 6:2). God does not ask of us anything that he himself has not first given us. “We love because he first has loved us” (1 Jn 4:19). He is not aloof from us. Each one of us has a place in his heart. He knows us by name, he cares for us and he seeks us out whenever we turn away from him. He is interested in each of us; his love does not allow him to be indifferent to what happens to us. Usually, when we are healthy and comfortable, we forget about others (something God the Father never does): we are unconcerned with their problems, their sufferings and the injustices they endure… Our heart grows cold. As long as I am relatively healthy and comfortable, I don’t think about those less well off. Today, this selfish attitude of indifference has taken on global proportions, to the extent that we can speak of a globalization of indifference. It is a problem which we, as Christians, need to confront.

When the people of God are converted to his love, they find answers to the questions that history continually raises. One of the most urgent challenges which I would like to address in this Message is precisely the globalization of indifference.

Indifference to our neighbour and to God also represents a real temptation for us Christians. Each year during Lent we need to hear once more the voice of the prophets who cry out and trouble our conscience.

God is not indifferent to our world; he so loves it that he gave his Son for our salvation. In the Incarnation, in the earthly life, death, and resurrection of the Son of God, the gate between God and man, between heaven and earth, opens once for all. The Church is like the hand holding open this gate, thanks to her proclamation of God’s word, her celebration of the sacraments and her witness of the faith which works through love (cf. Gal 5:6). But the world tends to withdraw into itself and shut that door through which God comes into the world and the world comes to him. Hence the hand, which is the Church, must never be surprised if it is rejected, crushed and wounded.

God’s people, then, need this interior renewal, lest we become indifferent and withdraw into ourselves. To further this renewal, I would like to propose for our reflection three biblical texts.

1. “If one member suffers, all suffer together” (1 Cor 12:26) – The Church

The love of God breaks through that fatal withdrawal into ourselves which is indifference. The Church offers us this love of God by her teaching and especially by her witness. But we can only bear witness to what we ourselves have experienced. Christians are those who let God clothe them with goodness and mercy, with Christ, so as to become, like Christ, servants of God and others. This is clearly seen in the liturgy of Holy Thursday, with its rite of the washing of feet. Peter did not want Jesus to wash his feet, but he came to realize that Jesus does not wish to be just an example of how we should wash one another’s feet. Only those who have first allowed Jesus to wash their own feet can then offer this service to others. Only they have “a part” with him (Jn 13:8) and thus can serve others.

Lent is a favourable time for letting Christ serve us so that we in turn may become more like him. This happens whenever we hear the word of God and receive the sacraments, especially the Eucharist. There we become what we receive: the Body of Christ. In this body there is no room for the indifference which so often seems to possess our hearts. For whoever is of Christ, belongs to one body, and in him we cannot be indifferent to one another. “If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honoured, all the parts share its joy” (1 Cor 12:26).

The Church is the communio sanctorum not only because of her saints, but also because she is a communion in holy things: the love of God revealed to us in Christ and all his gifts. Among these gifts there is also the response of those who let themselves be touched by this love. In this communion of saints, in this sharing in holy things, no one possesses anything alone, but shares everything with others. And since we are united in God, we can do something for those who are far distant, those whom we could never reach on our own, because with them and for them, we ask God that all of us may be open to his plan of salvation.

2. “Where is your brother?” (Gen 4:9) – Parishes and Communities

All that we have been saying about the universal Church must now be applied to the life of our parishes and communities. Do these ecclesial structures enable us to experience being part of one body? A body which receives and shares what God wishes to give? A body which acknowledges and cares for its weakest, poorest and most insignificant members? Or do we take refuge in a universal love that would embrace the whole world, while failing to see the Lazarus sitting before our closed doors (Lk 16:19-31)?

In order to receive what God gives us and to make it bear abundant fruit, we need to press beyond the boundaries of the visible Church in two ways.

In the first place, by uniting ourselves in prayer with the Church in heaven. The prayers of the Church on earth establish a communion of mutual service and goodness which reaches up into the sight of God. Together with the saints who have found their fulfilment in God, we form part of that communion in which indifference is conquered by love. The Church in heaven is not triumphant because she has turned her back on the sufferings of the world and rejoices in splendid isolation. Rather, the saints already joyfully contemplate the fact that, through Jesus’ death and resurrection, they have triumphed once and for all over indifference, hardness of heart and hatred. Until this victory of love penetrates the whole world, the saints continue to accompany us on our pilgrim way. Saint Therese of Lisieux, a Doctor of the Church, expressed her conviction that the joy in heaven for the victory of crucified love remains incomplete as long as there is still a single man or woman on earth who suffers and cries out in pain: “I trust fully that I shall not remain idle in heaven; my desire is to continue to work for the Church and for souls” (Letter 254, July 14, 1897).

We share in the merits and joy of the saints, even as they share in our struggles and our longing for peace and reconciliation. Their joy in the victory of the Risen Christ gives us strength as we strive to overcome our indifference and hardness of heart.

In the second place, every Christian community is called to go out of itself and to be engaged in the life of the greater society of which it is a part, especially with the poor and those who are far away. The Church is missionary by her very nature; she is not self-enclosed but sent out to every nation and people.

Her mission is to bear patient witness to the One who desires to draw all creation and every man and woman to the Father. Her mission is to bring to all a love which cannot remain silent. The Church follows Jesus Christ along the paths that lead to every man and woman, to the very ends of the earth (cf. Acts 1:8). In each of our neighbours, then, we must see a brother or sister for whom Christ died and rose again. What we ourselves have received, we have received for them as well. Similarly, all that our brothers and sisters possess is a gift for the Church and for all humanity.

Dear brothers and sisters, how greatly I desire that all those places where the Church is present, especially our parishes and our communities, may become islands of mercy in the midst of the sea of indifference!

3. “Make your hearts firm!” (James 5:8) – Individual Christians

As individuals too, we have are tempted by indifference. Flooded with news reports and troubling images of human suffering, we often feel our complete inability to help. What can we do to avoid being caught up in this spiral of distress and powerlessness?

First, we can pray in communion with the Church on earth and in heaven. Let us not underestimate the power of so many voices united in prayer! The 24 Hours for the Lord initiative, which I hope will be observed on 13-14 March throughout the Church, also at the diocesan level, is meant to be a sign of this need for prayer.

Second, we can help by acts of charity, reaching out to both those near and far through the Church’s many charitable organizations. Lent is a favourable time for showing this concern for others by small yet concrete signs of our belonging to the one human family.

Third, the suffering of others is a call to conversion, since their need reminds me of the uncertainty of my own life and my dependence on God and my brothers and sisters. If we humbly implore God’s grace and accept our own limitations, we will trust in the infinite possibilities which God’s love holds out to us. We will also be able to resist the diabolical temptation of thinking that by our own efforts we can save the world and ourselves.

As a way of overcoming indifference and our pretensions to self-sufficiency, I would invite everyone to live this Lent as an opportunity for engaging in what Benedict XVI called a formation of the heart (cf. Deus Caritas Est, 31). A merciful heart does not mean a weak heart. Anyone who wishes to be merciful must have a strong and steadfast heart, closed to the tempter but open to God. A heart which lets itself be pierced by the Spirit so as to bring love along the roads that lead to our brothers and sisters. And, ultimately, a poor heart, one which realizes its own poverty and gives itself freely for others.

During this Lent, then, brothers and sisters, let us all ask the Lord: “Fac cor nostrum secundum cor tuum”: Make our hearts like yours (Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus). In this way we will receive a heart which is firm and merciful, attentive and generous, a heart which is not closed, indifferent or prey to the globalization of indifference.

It is my prayerful hope that this Lent will prove spiritually fruitful for each believer and every ecclesial community. I ask all of you to pray for me. May the Lord bless you and Our Lady keep you.

From the Vatican, 4 October 2014

Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi

]]>http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/21/pope-francis-lenten-message/feed/0http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/21/pope-francis-lenten-message/The Degradation of Our Liveshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ThePinkFlamingo/~3/Yxhsmi0LP28/
http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/20/the-degradation-of-our-lives/#commentsFri, 20 Feb 2015 11:39:34 +0000http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/?p=42915...Read the Rest]]>Last night I was watching a rerun of I Love Lucy. They had just moved into the house in the country. Lucy wondered if she should put another blanket on Little Ricky. She was told that the furnace kept the house nice and warm.

Remember those days?

For some strange reason, we’re no longer allowed to be comfortable – and to enjoy it. I don’t know when I’ve been truly warm. I have a heat-pump and live in an energy inefficient condo. Yes, it was my fault for being so stupid as to purchase it, but for the first ten years of living here, I was able to be warm in the winter. Today, though, I don’t know when I’ve been able to get a shower and not freeze before and after. Nights in my bedroom have an average temperature of 57 or 58. I have two fireplaces, but the cost of wood is prohibitive. So is the cost of electricity. Since 2010, PNM has raised our rates 41%. They are planning to raise residential rates another 16% next year. One of the reasons is to deal with the new EPA regulations on carbon emissions. The other is so that the board members can have a tidy compensation and the company, which is a public regulated utility can show a very good healthy bottom line. In the process, here in New Mexico, to insure this alleged bottom line, a major power plant will be taken off line, crippling the economy of an entire sector of the state. This is a part of the state where unemployment is chronic.

It’s now too expensive to run the air conditioning in the summer. You ration the number of lights which are kept on, during the evening. And, I have blankets hanging in front of a couple of my windows. This is 2015. People living in the United States should not be living this way.

On Wednesday, I picked up my weekly shopping at Wallyworld. I have no choice. There are two places to shop in the little town where I live. Two weeks ago, the price of gas was $1.89 a gallon. Today it is $2.19. That’s a thirty cent increase. If you need to buy twenty gallons of gas to fill the car, that’s $6 increase. It adds up. Just for myself, today, at the store, I spent $140. I bought nothing exotic. I bought a big bag of Meow Mix and 28 pounds of litter. That alone was $23. A few years ago, Wallyworld sold this incredible brand of crystal litter, that was only about $3.50 a bag. Forget that. You can’t break people that way. The price of Fancy Feast increased four cents a can in a week. There’s no need for it. I bought three potatoes, large ones. They were nearly four dollars. Trying to find the cheapest price on broccoli, I bought the cheap stuff. It was $2.75. When you are on a limited budget, it gets worse, each week.

Two years ago I had incredible health insurance. It was $164 a month with a yearly deductible of $1200. I could pick and choose my own doctors and go anywhere I wanted. Today, I have no insurance. I’m one of those people the system has glitched so that I can’t buy insurance. I thought it was just me, but evidently there are a couple million of us. It wouldn’t matter, anyway. The cheapest price I can get, here in New Mexico is $468 a month, with a yearly deductible of around $7000. I now have no health insurance. I can’t afford it.

New Mexico is in the middle of yet another economic downturn. The price of real estate is dropping, yet again. Here in this state, they don’t value land. The same type of acreage we’re trying to sell, for barely $500 an acre, which is an obscenity in itself, is selling in Texas for $1500/acre. Back east it is going for three times that. And – because of the poverty level in this state, the oil/gas barons who control the state, are trying to force you to sell what you have to them – for almost less than you paid for it. It wasn’t like this a few years ago. Unfortunately, the idiots who control the county council have made it so difficult to put a well on your property, they’ve further destroyed the value of any property. But – the local billionaire developer, gambling, hostler can have his golf courses.

The degradation of life has reached the point in this country where I truly only know of 1 person who has a better life than they did in 2008. I don’t know anyone who isn’t suffering with a loss of buying power, and financial security. They tell you to save for retirement, but why bother when a person could make more money buying Barbie collectables. But – have you seen the tax rate on art, collectables, and antiques? It’s 28%.

The President has proposed a draconian new way to redistribute wealth. In an attempt to destroy the large fortunes, he wants to change the inheritance taxes where, the moment you inherit, you pay capital gains on the inheritance. If you inherit a piece of property that’s worth about $500K, you must pay something like $70K, up front, immediately. Who can afford that? It’s not going to hurt the wealthy, but those of us who stood to inherit a little bit of property are going to be kicked into the gutter.

It doesn’t matter which political party is in charge. Both work only for the super wealthy and their billionaire over-lords. We’re being pushed into a libertarian serfdom, where we the little people are going to end up just like Ayn Rand predicted – dying in the gutter.

This is NOT the America I knew – in 2008. The land of hope, freedom, and opportunity has suddenly become a trap. There is no freedom, especially economic. Our futures are increasingly dark and dreary. Unless something drastically changes, I see absolutely no hope for we the little people.

I just don’t get it. The world of Lucy Ricardo was one of economic hope. It was on the cusp of civil rights, increased economic freedom, and a land where anything was possible. Now, though, in order to seriously degrade our status of living, primarily to save the planet, we’re on a downward spiral. The new Food Pyramid is going to be removing quite a bit of meat from the daily nutritional chart. No, not for our health, but because farm animals contribute to global warming. So – now kids go without meat, not because their families can’t afford it, which they can’t, but to appease climate hysteria which is nothing but hysteria.

Yes, we need to be prudent and make the world we live a better one. I want solar and wind power. It’s cheap and easy. The problem is the fact that the billionaire over-lords like the Kochs and the Waltons don’t want us to have it. They want to keep impoverishing us, in order to make themselves even wealthier. That’s the wealth I’d like to redistribute. They are stealing from us. They are destroying our future. The politicians who take their money, Democrats and Republicans are enabling them.

I seem to remember Ricky complaining that the phone bill was $18. Gas was $56. Power was about $26. Water was $11? Lucy told Ricky that eggs were 75 cents a dozen. They spent $88 on food per month because Fred and Ethel were spending every weekend with them. I calculated the price from 1957 via Measuring Worth for 2013, which is the latest available data.

$18 phone = $149

$56 gas = $463 (that could be about right)

$26 power = $215

$11 water = $91

$0.75 eggs = $6.21

$88 food = $728

In the San Francisco area, they’re paying $5.29 for a dozen eggs – to accommodate laws increasing the size of cages for chickens. The price, nationwide has, according to some sources, doubled since September. In December, the average price, nationally was about $2.30 or so. In other words, the Ricardos were not exactly living in poverty, even by today’s standards. The minimum wage was $1/hour. Today that would be about $8.29 today. The Ricardos were spending about $199 a month on utilities and food. Living on minimum wage, that would be $39 more than $160/month. Ricky earned something like $3500 for a television appearance, which calculates out today to be $29,000 – which covers the cost of the new furniture Lucy bought.

It all show a very different world. When you go back and look at things, the Ricardos were living like B-list celebs. They weren’t A-listers, but Ricky was well known, even though Lucy said he’d never had a hit record. He did though, have numerous records. He toured with his band, and had fans. He made a very nice living. But – B-listers lived much differently in 1957 than they do today. Fred and Ethel were the ones with all the money. I calculated the worth of the apartment building they owned. Today, they would be up there in Trumpdom.

Our lives have changed.

]]>http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/20/the-degradation-of-our-lives/feed/0http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/20/the-degradation-of-our-lives/If This Is Any Example…We’re Screwedhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ThePinkFlamingo/~3/oFFpPY0ghZM/
http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/19/if-this-is-any-example-were-screwed/#commentsThu, 19 Feb 2015 11:48:03 +0000http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/?p=42909...Read the Rest]]>Unfortunately, in this crazy, mixed up world of ours, there are narratives one is no longer allowed to mention, such as areas of Paris where Jews are not welcome. It’s not true. In fact, the mayor of Paris is going to file a defamation lawsuit against FAUX News for pointing this out, so gracefully, as only FOX News can do. The problem is, it is true. But, today, we’re not allowed to mention that there is a serious problem, a growing problem, especially in Europe, with extremist Islam. While it is quite acceptable to damn all Christians, these days, as terrorist monsters, especially here in this country, and handled so ineptly by Barack Obama at the National Prayer Breakfast, one must not mention that entire populations of individuals within Islam are becoming more and more radicalized.

We Christians, we normal Christians are screaming at the top of our lungs that this is happening to our faith, here in the US, but people don’t want to listen to us. Currently, it appears that all the main religions of the planet are going through an era of stupidity – we all are. One of the problems is that there is a steady narrative that radical right wing Christianity that is worse than radical Islam. We have a serious radical right wing conservative problem in this country – but, for the most part, these people aren’t killing tens of thousands of innocent individuals. The past few days, I’ve started looking at some of the articles damning those who say there is a problem within radical Islam. Guess what religion they are?

There is a strange meme coming out of the the left these days. ISIS is not about Islamic terror, but about disadvantaged youths who need jobs. That’s not quite accurate, but, unfortunately that is exactly what some dim-wit State Department twit said Tuesday on Wolf Blitzer. Dems are having a fit because the right is discussing it. They should be. I heard the entire interview. No one could possibly be as stupid and ill informed as Marie Harf.

“…”We cannot win this war by killing them. We cannot kill our way out of this war,” she said. “We need in the medium- and longer-term to go after the root causes that lead people to join these groups, whether it’s lack of opportunity for jobs –“…”

I heard it. I heard her say it. Yes, she was that stupid. Even worse. Blitzer gave her every opportunity to discuss the fact that the two terror incidents in Paris were connected. She repeatedly denied that they were, despite the fact that, even before she went on the air, the connection had been confirmed.

“…When Harf appeared on CNN’s “The Situation Room” Tuesday afternoon, host Wolf Blitzer gave her an opening to respond to her critics. She pointed out that she wasn’t the first person to recognize poverty as a driving force behind of violent extremism and later cited former President George W. Bush on Twitter as saying “we fight against poverty because hope is an answer to terror.” Bush made the remark at a 2002 United Nations conference in Mexico….”

Yes, she is that stupid. And yes, I am well aware that there is a connection between poverty and extremism, but to say that is the root cause, and the war against ISIS will be won by providing opportunity for the psychopaths who flock to it is just plain – stupid. Never mind that all of Italy is reeling over the fact that ISIS is now only about 200 miles away from them.

The Administration has a perception problem when it comes to ISIS. Never mind that they aren’t going to get a break from the right. They aren’t, but right now, with the growing list of gaffs, ineptness from people like Harf, and and the most incompetent Secretary of State in over a half century, well he has a problem. Since John Kerry became Sec State, it is as though Barack Obama is incapable of making a foreign policy decision. One of the reasons I voted for him was because of his foreign policy of his first term. Forget that. Let’s also face the fact that one of the reasons ISIS is now so powerful is because the Administration refused to even considering putting a check on it when they were contained in Syria, slaughtering Christians. The narrative then was Bashar al-Assad was the true villain. ISIS were freedom fighters. I remember. I wrote about it then. After all, Obama doesn’t like Vladimir Putin. They’re involved in a male pissing contest. Putin was containing al-Assad, and trying to do something about ISIS. Ergo, we did not.

Heck, I agree with what the President wrote:

“…The world must continue to lift up the voices of Muslim clerics and scholars who teach the true peaceful nature of Islam. We can echo the testimonies of former extremists who know how terrorists betray Islam. We can help Muslim entrepreneurs and youths work with the private sector to develop social media tools to counter extremist narratives on the Internet.

Our campaign to prevent people around the world from being radicalized to violence is ultimately a battle for hearts and minds. We know from experience that the best way to protect people, especially young people, from falling into the grip of violent extremists is the support of their family, friends, teachers and faith leaders. At this week’s summit, community leaders from Los Angeles, Minneapolis and Boston will highlight innovative partnerships in their cities that are helping empower communities to protect their loved ones from extremist ideologies.

More broadly, groups like al Qaeda and ISIL exploit the anger that festers when people feel that injustice and corruption leave them with no chance of improving their lives. The world has to offer today’s youth something better.

Governments that deny human rights play into the hands of extremists who claim that violence is the only way to achieve change. Efforts to counter violent extremism will only succeed if citizens can address legitimate grievances through the democratic process and express themselves through strong civil societies. Those efforts must be matched by economic, educational and entrepreneurial development so people have hope for a life of dignity….”

I agree 100% with what the President wrote. The problem is that his message is being turned into farce by people like Harf and the incompetence that is John Kerry. We have a very serious problem that is only getting worse. This idiot so-called war Kerry is too create with Russia is a joke. We all know the problems in the Ukraine have been made worse by Kerry’s tampering and the macho pissing contest between Obama and Putin. They’re so busy stressing that we’re not at war with Islam, that they forget the only way to win a war against ISIS is by uniting with Russia, not fighting it in a stupid proxy war.

]]>http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/19/if-this-is-any-example-were-screwed/feed/0http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/19/if-this-is-any-example-were-screwed/Mental Illness and Family Responsibilityhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ThePinkFlamingo/~3/YfLms0WLSiE/
http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/18/mental-illness-and-family-responsibility/#commentsWed, 18 Feb 2015 11:30:35 +0000http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/?p=42904...Read the Rest]]>I am prefacing this post with the following: I never paid attention to the life story of Chris Kyle, until the movie came out, and the ultra liberal press began denigrating him as a monster. I don’t know what the story is, there. I do know that what he did was horribly soul-sucking. Anyone who says he enjoyed what he did, is, I suspect, being intellectually dishonest. I know of someone who did something similar in Vietnam. It destroyed his future and his ability to do much of anything. This person and I don’t get along to the point where it is rather humorous. A mutual friend thinks that it is. When our mutual friend told me what this person did in Vietnam, I changed my mind about him – to a point. He literally gave the rest of his life for his country. His injuries were mental, psychological. I know, according to our mutual friend, he lives with this every single day. For anyone to say that men like this are monsters and treat them as such are, as far as I am concerned, absolutely disgusting.

This post is not about Chris Kyle. It is not about Eddie Ray Routh, who is accused of murdering Kyle and Chad Littlefield. It is about mental illness and a family’s responsibility to insure family members who are mentally ill and a danger to themselves and the public are contained. I have known a woman for well over a decade who has a daughter who is schizophrenic. Over the years I’ve watched this woman battle the authorities, her daughter, the medical profession, and anyone who put a roadblock between her daughter and proper care. She recognized that her daughter was a danger, not only to herself, but could be a danger to the public. She had never taken no for an answer, to the point where, there are times, as long as her daughter is medicated and supervised, she can live a fairly normal life.

According to Dr. Harry Croft, who is considered one of the leading experts on PTSD, Routh was not suffering from PTSD. He had other mental issues, but it was not PTSD. Routh is concerned, that, because PTSD is being used as an excuse for murder, it will effect vets who are dealing with post traumatic stress, who are trying to find a decent job. If Routh is not suffering from PTSD, then what is going on here?

“…He says the accused shooter was a Marine and would not fit the profile of a PTSD patient alone, especially since he allegedly killed a fellow veteran who was at the gun range offering help. “Either it was drugs or alcohol or some sort of co-existing psychiatric illness, depression psychosis, manic episode, paranoid disorder, something in addition to his PTSD,” said Croft…”

He was on anti-psychotic drugs. He was also, apparently abusing drugs, or had a history of this. Marijuana, which was found, would not cause this. He had been drinking. He was on medication for schizophrenia. Kyle and Littlefield were, apparently, told by Routh’s mother, that he was suffering from PTSD. Apparently, she did not tell the about the other psychological problems.

If Routh’s mother knew he was suffering from schizophrenia, and was psychotic, and she is the one who arranged for Kyle and Littlefield to work with her son, she is as much to blame for their death as her son. Apparently Routh’s girlfriend was so concerned, she tried to reach Kyle at least twice, before he was murdered.

This a tragedy which could have been prevented. One of the only ways to stop things like this is to start holding family members who are not actively trying to get help for dangerously their mentally ill ‘loved ones’, as responsible as those who pull the trigger. Bartenders are held responsible if a person lives a bar, drunk, and is in a tragic accident. Why is this any different?

]]>http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/18/mental-illness-and-family-responsibility/feed/0http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/18/mental-illness-and-family-responsibility/The Birth of a New Atheist Religionhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ThePinkFlamingo/~3/FTJNRaUFbjQ/
http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/17/the-birth-of-a-new-atheist-religion/#commentsTue, 17 Feb 2015 11:39:01 +0000http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/?p=42895...Read the Rest]]>For the past few years, many of us who have serious problems with the abject worship of Ayn Rand and so-called Christian Conservatives who embraced her so-called economic philosophy. It is a philosophy where good is evil, charity is only for one’s self. Mercy is not allowed. Christians are to be denigrated and treated like dirt. While orthodox followers of Rand do not particularly like libertarians, and have nothing but contempt for them, a true libertarian worships Rand as their god. They are some of the original tea partiers. When you encounter them online, they are rude, threatening bullies. The object is for them to be so threatening and bullying that you will shut up and leave them alone, to control the message.

I’ve recently noticed that when one makes a comment on certain so-called ‘progressive’ or liberal sites, and mentions that you are a Christian, you are viciously attacked and bullied to the point where you no longer respond. The people doing this are ‘atheists’. We all know that there are good and bad people in every group, no matter who. The real problem with atheism is that one automatically thinks about the positively vile Madalyn Murray O’Hair who had to be one of the poorest excuses of a human being since Ayn Rand. And, no, it wasn’t because she was an atheist, but because she was a vile excuse of a human being. Like any number of Jim & Tammie Fayes, have given Christians a bad name, she did the same for atheists.

I don’t care what a person believes. Oh, I know, as a Christian, I am to go out and tell the world about Christ, but quite frankly, I am fairly certain most people who are in my specific sphere of influence have heard about Christ. I have a responsibility to live what I advocate or I am intellectually dishonest. That’s as a far as I go. I am terribly uncomfortable preaching to people. It just isn’t me. I have a tendency to respect a person and what they believe, unless that person is not deserving of respect, not because of what they do or don’t believe, but because of who they are and the quality of their character. When someone is part of a dangerous cult, that’s an entirely different thing – and yes, there are denominations and cults within Christianity that are dangerous.

The past few years, I’ve made ‘friends’ with quite a few people on Twitter who are atheists. Almost to a person, they are nice people, at least online. I’m learning that people who have a tendency to be polite online, are that way in ‘real’ life. I’m also learning that many of these people believe or don’t believe because they have been subjected to spiritual abuse – by godly Christians. Quit frankly, I find them to be nicer than most so-called godly Christians.

I could not understand why we were dealing with a certain group of bullies, until something finally clicked. There are any number of libertarians, big-time followers of Ayn Rand, who are considered ‘new’ Atheists. Bingo! These are the same rude, nasty tea-partying jerks who have made themselves obnoxious – for ages.

They are also very poorly educated. Many don’t have a very real grasp of the nuances of the English language. Simply because they are ‘libertarian’ they are far superior to the rest of us. Last week, I decided I was not going to be bullied, when I made a comment to an article on Alternet. It’s quite simple. We are in the process of watching the birth of a new religion – the church of atheism.

Madalyn Murray O’Hair would be spinning in her grave, if indeed she had one, and they found all her missing body parts.

]]>http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/17/the-birth-of-a-new-atheist-religion/feed/0http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/17/the-birth-of-a-new-atheist-religion/Buckling That Swash – Please?http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ThePinkFlamingo/~3/JvgxSATKIzM/
http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/16/buckling-that-swash-please/#commentsMon, 16 Feb 2015 11:32:59 +0000http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/?p=42867...Read the Rest]]>Last week, the operatic world was in something of a flutter, at least many female opera fans were. It was quite simple. You take 1 incredibly good looking man with the best baritone voice of our generation, and put him in that shirt, and we lose our minds. Trust me, part of it is THE SHIRT. There should be a law requiring men wear shirts like this. They are romantic, in every sense of the word: romance.

I must admit, one of the few shows I watch, regularly, is the BBC’s version of The Three Musketeers. On Saturday, while I was watching it, it finally dawned on me why I don’t like much of the operatic staging today. For some reason, today’s sophisticated, and I use that word sarcastically, operatic producer and designer is madly in love with the 1930 and Art Decco. The flirtation is coming out of Europe. I have a tendency not to wax very poetic about philosophies behind operatic production. My personal preference is that it should be what it should be, and the final notes of the composer should be the last word. It was the composer’s last word. If Puccini went out of his way to set Tosca (one of my personal favorites) during the the Napoleonic wars, specifically basing the opera on the play by Victorien Sardou, then one should honor the playwright’s wishes. He put a specific date of June 17, from early morning, until after midnight on June 18, 1800, then the opera should be staged that way. To do anything else violates the wishes of the composer and the body of work upon which it is based.

BBC America

This is the shirt and the photo that started me thinking about opera, women, and buckling that swash. It’s a simple shirt, timeless. It says something else to us today, to we women. It is heroic, masculine, and, well, just plain attractive, to put it mildly. Add a cape over the shirt, and that swash can be buckled.

Today’s ultra sophisticated and world-weary critics might complain about just another hackneyed production, but the reason they are critics is because that’s all they can do, bitch and criticize. It tends to jade a person’s world-view. If you can’t say something nice, then you become a critic. Critics today are in love with the 1930’s and Decco stagings. They want edgy, and something new. If you want edgy and something new, write it yourself. Don’t condemn the world to your cultural and historical ignorance.

I love Tosca. I love the time frame. You would think, today, with the 200th anniversary of Waterloo pending, that someone might make the connection between the demise of Napoleon and an opera which foreshadows just that. Unfortunately, that requires more knowledge of culture, sociology, and history than today’s poorly educated operatic producers have. It is also a thumb in the nose of life. They are better than we, the unwashed masses are. They know better. They are the superior ones. We barely know how to brush our teeth and apply deodorant, evidently. No matter that the costuming in Tosca is what we today like to term ‘Regency’. Anyone with half a brain cell knows that Regency is all about Jane Austen. Any dolt who bothers to check movie reviews, Oscar nominations, ticket sales, book sales, and so forth and so on might be able to comprehend that Regency sells. In the day and age where the ultra sophisticated and perennial child of privileged, Peter Gelb, is now reduced to basically pawning the Chagalls.

One of the reasons is because Gelb’s taste in modern staging doesn’t sell. His choices of edgy, modern productions can’t fill the seats. The sophisticates decry the fact that the Zefferelli La Boheme and Turandot are trite and need to be traded in for something updated and more modern. It’s like this – they are money-makers.

Unknown Subject by Nicholas Hilliard, c 1600

People like the productions. Sure, those people, the little people, have barely managed to pull themselves up from the primordial swamps and have only recently evolved from the amoeba, and the sophisticates are well – sophisticated. But, there are only so many sophisticates in the world, which is populated by We the Little People.

There is a problem with catering to the sophisticates and the billionaires who are like the immortals, periodically coming down from the clouds to walk among us, holding a nosegay – a small bouquet of aromatic flowers to their well-sculpted and turned- up noses, so the need not smell our unwashed bodies. It is basic economics. Even billionaires can only buy so many new refrigerators a year – maybe a couple thousand at most. When the economy is bad, only billionaires can afford new refrigerators. They don’t need that many, so the plant which manufactures refrigerators lays off workers, who can no longer afford to buy a new refrigerator. The company selling refrigerators is now selling even fewer refrigerators, so they must now close the plant. Suddenly, only billionaires can truly afford new refrigerators, and the manufacturer who is trying to survive, is out of business.

The same basic theory should apply to opera. In an era when smaller companies are struggling to survive, and many are, Peter Gelb doesn’t quite get it. Within a 400 mile radius of where I live are several small operatic companies who are churning out decent work. I can drive to Santa Fe in a couple hours. I can drive to Dallas quicker than I can fly to New York. The same thing holds true for Phoenix. If you start doing a little investigating (and again I am being sarcastic) someone like Peter Gelb might just discover that world class opera is being staged in Santa Fe – world class. While Gelb goes begging, had in hand, pawning the silver, Santa Fe easily raises money to make a good thing even better.

While we’re on the subject, these larger operatic companies are now priding themselves on their casts. Santa Fe’s are world class. So are those in Dallas. So is Phoenix. On any given night at the Met, one might get a star. Superstars these days are rare. Once upon a time, the Met was nothing but a rooster of superstars, who appeared – constantly. You would have a Pavarotti, Domingo, Carreras, Krause, Gedda, and a Hofmann – world class tenors, in each and every performance. Today, no one even knows the tenor’s name. There is an unfortunate tendency of some opera houses today, to no longer list the cast. One of these days, we’re going to see the same thing with the Met. The cast will no longer be important.

When the most important opera company in the world no longer fields superstars on a nightly basis, people go elsewhere – even in New York. If there’s a new production, a local opera-goer will hit it once, if it isn’t all that much. But – you put a world-class superstar in that same production, and, like building a better widget, people will be knocking on your door. This day and age, incredible young talent is so plentiful, and so very good, if there isn’t a reason to make a trip to New York, why bother, when you can go to Dallas, or Phoenix, or Santa Fe, spend less, and see opera that is world-class? Even better, go to the smaller companies and get a glimpse of the stars of tomorrow. Gelb has mismanaged the Met so badly, he’s already starting to bring in the younger singers. No, it isn’t because they are good. It’s because they are C-H-E-A-P. I’m not going to spend a small fortune to travel to NYC to see someone who is is not a world-class voice.

But – if a Peter Gelb isn’t willing to bring the big guns in on a nightly bases, he’d better have a production which still appeals to the unwashed masses. Let’s go back to Tosca. We the little people, especially we the romantic, fat, slobs of femininity who do nothing but sit on the sofa and stuff our piggy faces with cheap chocolate and fast food, are addicted to the Regency period. I know, we don’t look good and aren’t conducive to being photographed for the society and culture red carpet, but we are willing to spend what little spare change we have these days, on something we like. We love the clothing. We love the romance, and (sigh) we love the men! Sure, Art Decco ice queens created by David Alden for his incomprehensible new Un Ballo in Maschera, have critic appeal, but the staging makes the entire opera abjectly silly.

The tale is based on the era of revolution in Europe. There is basically only one time frame in much of modern history where is during that age. The perfect costuming is early ‘Regency’ or early ‘Empire’ from around 1798 – 1802. You go right back to Jane Austen, Tosca, Pride and Prejudice, and that amazing romantic look. Instead, we are treated to late Art Decco, and early classic Hollywood, circa Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, and the beautiful style of the era.

Unfortunately, there is no real beauty in many of the productions which stress this era. Instead, they appear to be bringing the very dark overtones of the 1930s. It was an era of great despair, world-wide depression, and the growth of Fascist dictators and all the brutality involved in the lead-up to a war which saw the death of nearly forty million men and women. It was an era of genocide, eugenics, and brutality. Like today, Jews all over Europe were endangered and threatened. It is entirely possible the overly sophisticated men and women who are giving us these productions are picking up on the cultural, historical, and sociological similarities. After all, many of the production designers brought in by the Met are not from this country. Americans aren’t good enough for the current management. We just aren’t sophisticated enough for their jaded palate with its almost overt hints of sadism, brutal sexuality, and cruelty. They have stripped all the visual beauty from the genre and replaced it a moment in time which lasted maybe 2 years – in Hollywood. It is as though we are living in repeat of history, where today’s operatic sophisticates are living in a world before the imposition of the Hays Code on Hollywood. Anything and everything goes. There are no standards.

“…Dozens of films produced in 1932 and 1933 presented women using their sexuality to get ahead. The “bad girl” movies, including Red Headed Woman starring Jean Harlow, were huge box office hits. “She slept her way to the top, she was into S&M; there’s a very naughty scene where he starts beating her, and she just loves it,” comments Eve Golden, Jean Harlow biographer….Moviemakers and scriptwriters acquiesced. They accepted the Code as the rule by which they had to work and created films that met Breen’s standards. Some actors survived; others were not so fortunate. Under the watchful eye of Breen and the PCA, Jean Harlow learned to play the all-American, girl-next-door and her career flourished. Others, like Mae West, were ruined in part because sexual innuendo and the double-entendre — her trademarks — were forbidden by the Code. Hollywood Censored shows reel-to-reel evidence of Breen’s influence. The films released after July 1934 were radically different from those that had come before. “It’s the difference between Mae West and Shirley Temple,” explains film historian Thomas Doherty in the film…”

What is quite fascinating is that, once the ‘Code’ was put into place, Hollywood saw the rise of very powerful, dominating actresses and the rise of very strong character roles for women. Then again, maybe the sophisticates are reflecting society as a whole. Their opera production, as a whole, are having a tendency to degenerate women. They are not created for women, but for a certain class of individuals who are as important and culturally sensitive as are they.

Women, we the little people, have been forgotten, not only by Hollywood, but the operatic world is reflecting this. It is all rather fascinating, and is quite telling. If Peter Gelb wants to increase the bottom line, he needs to realize that half the opera going public, the little people, we the unwashed, smelly fat, filthy masses are half of his audience. If you stage an opera to resemble a Regency or Georgian bodice-buster, trust me, people women will come. I am beginning to thin, though, that in sophisticated opera, as in the fundamental, far right, conservative, patriarchal, dominionist world created by R. J. Rushdoony, Bill Gothard, and Gary North, and so forth and so on.

If you are a woman, reading this, the cultural implications for us all are absolutely chilling. Hollywood had fewer roles for women in 2014 than previously. Operatic impresarios don’t even realize we are half of the theater going, and opera-going population. Then again, neither does Hollywood. Maybe they are just reflecting the current political trend here in the US, were women are no longer allowed to be considered feminists. Rape is acceptable if a woman is not clothed in some far right Christian proverbial and psychological burka.

Our rights are being stripped from us almost on a daily basis. Many of us, are now facing something we never even though we would face in the form of life-long poverty. Are lives are growing bleaker and more diminished by the day as we witness the rise of dictatorial and fascist tendencies even here in the US no only in the form of libertarian loving individuals who know more than we do on the federal level, but in our everyday lives. Any normal person, today should be absolutely terrified at the thought of being stopped for a traffic violation. We are living on the precipice of far right fundamentalist religious domination not only in exotic parts of the world, but right here in this country. On Tuesday, a godly, Christian Republican in Montana introduced a bill which would outlaw yoga pants on women, or anything else form fitting or low-cut. Fines would begin at $1000. A third violation would result in the woman spending the rest of her life in prison – for wearing yoga pants or a blouse low-cut the way I do.

I don’t know about you, but I think we need men in THE SHIRT. Maybe it is the romance they offer, the fight for the rights of we the little people, heroes, marching in to save us all. Like Zorro, they rode in, cape blowing in the wind, and made the world safe for the unwashed masses. They made the world safe for women to no longer be afraid of being brutalized by society. Sure, they were probably bastards, but, the women they romanced, loved, and probably left, never seemed to complain.

I think it was the shirt. The shirt is a hallmark of the Alpha Male. I like men who are Alpha Males, not because they are dominate, but they have a tendency to treat women better. I’m not talking about the macho, testosterone laced jerk who is so unsure of his own sexuality that he must treat women badly, but the Alpha Male who knows who he is, not necessarily the leader of the pack, but the man who knows who he is, and is not afraid of who he is. One of the problems with the little men of today is that they are cruel and nasty. They don’t like women. It doesn’t matter about their gender orientation, they just don’t like women. We see this quit a bit in the world of far right so-called godly ‘christian’ men here in the US. They are pale, pallid, insignificant, twits who can only get ahead by putting women in their place. They can only survive by dominating and forcing women to become servants to them. Feminism cannot exist.

In many ways, the world of the modern opera production which is loosely placed in the Deco era of the 1930 is all about the use and abuse of women. The European productions strip all of the beauty and poetry from opera. They turn it into a stark, perverted, S & M extravaganza where women are used and abused. They put women in situations, abusive, vile situations which the composer never envisioned. Sure, if Wagner were around today, he would be pushing the boundaries. I have no doubt he would encourage nude Rhine maidens, and his Valkyries would be topless. I suspect we would see a tremendous amount of nudity in his performances. Nudity in opera does not necessarily change the story. There is a place for Don Giovanni to have an orgy, which would include women only. There was nothing ambiguous about his sexual orientation. But, to put the story in a modern diner, forget it. To have S & M overtones with degradation of even the performers is not part of the story. Let’s face it, we are looking at the opposite but the same attack on women as with the extreme Christian right. Women are to be controlled, put in their place, and stripped of all beauty. They are nothing.

That’s why THE SHIRT is so important.

]]>http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/16/buckling-that-swash-please/feed/0http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/16/buckling-that-swash-please/Cruel & Unusual in Nikki Haley Landhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ThePinkFlamingo/~3/GC124fCVhQM/
http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/15/cruel-unusual-in-nikki-haley-land/#commentsSun, 15 Feb 2015 11:23:06 +0000http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/?p=42850...Read the Rest]]>The Eighth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States forbids cruel and unusual punishment. Someone needs to explain this to the state of South Carolina. If a prisoner uses social media, they get “X” number of days in solitary confinement. Currently the state has so many people in solitary confinement they’re trying to seek alternative ways to impose this cruel and unusual punishment. Today’s version of solitary confinement is a soul eating, brain killing monster that harkens back to the days of abject horror, like the scene in the movie Ben-Hur, where Judah Ben Hur’s mother and sister have been confined to prison for so long, no one even know if they are dead or alive, or where they are. They are confined to a life of pure filth and mind-numbing emptiness. That’s just about what today’s version of solitary confinement is, minus the filth and leprosy.

Evidently, Facebook is going along with this, making it easier for prison officials to find out if a person has been online. I can see keeping a person off-line as part of their punishment. I can see not allowing them access to social media. But you don’t put them in solitary confinement for eternity.

“…South Carolina may be unique only in the frequency and severity with which it enforces social media punishments. In New Mexico, an inmate was sentenced to 60 days in solitary confinement after his family members accessed Facebook on his behalf. In Alabama, a law was recently passed to make it a misdemeanor to serve as a go-between for an inmate who wants to post information to the Internet.

These policies have not gone unchallenged. An Arizona law forbidding inmates from accessing the Internet through a third party was struck down as unconstitutional. The Florida Department of Corrections backtracked on a policy proposal similar to South Carolina’s after the Florida Justice Institute and other civil liberties groups threatened litigation [PDF]. Just last week, the ACLU of Indiana filed a lawsuit alleging First Amendment violations when prison officials punished an inmate after his sister launched a social media campaign to get him freed.

SCDC has set up a system that allows prison administrators to hold inmates longer, in harsher conditions, and to largely cut them off from the rest of the world. South Carolinians should demand an immediate review of how this policy is applied.

We’re also calling on Facebook to embrace the position that inmate communication often has public value, such as when inmates raise issues about possibly unconstitutional prison conditions and other irregularities in the criminal justice system….”

San Quentin Prisoners in a group setting environment

Why do people in prisons have access to go online, anyway? As someone who has been stalked, in the past, I would not want the person who stalked me to have access to go online. Why not just use a little common sense?

Electronic Frontier Foundation

People in prison should NOT have access to social media. But – there is a right way and a wrong way to go about this.

]]>http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/15/cruel-unusual-in-nikki-haley-land/feed/0http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/15/cruel-unusual-in-nikki-haley-land/Valentine’s Day – 1923http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ThePinkFlamingo/~3/w6fabayedao/
http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/14/valentines-day-1923/#commentsSat, 14 Feb 2015 11:38:10 +0000http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/?p=42859...Read the Rest]]>My grandparents were married on Valentine’s Day, in 1921. My grandfather died in 1991. My grandmother was buried on what would have been their anniversary, in 1994. They never fought. They rarely argued. They were best friends, always.

Every single day of their married life, when they were together, my grandfather would go outside and pick a flower to go by my grandmother’s breakfast plate. It was usually a hibiscus. If flowers weren’t available, he always improvised.

They were married on Valentine’s Day. His birthday was February 15. Once he was no longer with us, Valentine’s Day was never the same. Every year, from the time I was in college, the entire family would go to Florida for the birthday/anniversary. It was a requirement, a command performance no one ever wanted to miss.

We planned our entire year around Grandy’s birthday. Even when he was dealing with short term memory loss due to numerous TIA strokes, he had no problem focusing in on the day. He was a little annoyed with us on his 90th. We had a huge party, big crowd, and I think it was 5 birthday cakes, all with 90 candles – lit. Naturally the smoke alarm went off, but that was to be expected. We thought it was hilarious!

I had the greatest grandparents ever. I was so very fortunate in that I had my grandparents with me for many years. I was able to get to know them, as an adult. That is a blessing and a treasure.

Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice. From what I’ve tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate To say that for destruction ice Is also great And would suffice.

Fire and Ice, by Robert Frost, is one of my favorite poems. I think it expresses, exactly what is going on, with the bullies and jerks who call themselves “New Atheists”. In my dealings with them, online, I have found them to be narcissistic, hate-filled, true-believers who think highly of themselves. Like all true-believers, no matter what they either believe – or don’t believe, they demand everyone convert to their beliefs, even if they have none. Like all fundamentalists, they make nice, decent, normal atheists look bad. In that way, they are no different from the denizens of the religious right, or the Taliban. If you refuse to acknowledge that I am superior in every way, and what I think is the true way to … whatever…you are a total fool and I am going to destroy you.

I am a Christian. I have always been a Christian. But – I like hanging out with atheists. For the most part they are well educated, bright, articulate, science fiction and science nerds who just want to be accepted for who they are – just like the rest of us. They are usually extremely nice people who are no more interested in converting someone to atheism than I am converting them to Christianity. Oh, I know we are told go go out and evangelize the world, but, from what I can tell, most of the planet has basically been evangelized to some extent. I like secular humanists a hell of a lot more than I like followers of Bill Gothard. I have far more in common with them than I do with a cult which is based on heretical foolishness that has no rightful place in Christian discourse. I figure there’s nothing I can say or do to ‘convert’ someone who is an atheist to my way of thinking. I appreciate it when my manners are reciprocated.

You see, I happen to think Salvation is a miracle. I don’t know any other way of explaining it. I am a skeptic – a doubter. If someone tells me the sky is pink, I’m going to tell them to prove it. I don’t ‘believe’ things unless I have a good reason to do so, or experience them for myself. It’s that simple. Something quite strange had to happen to cause me to suspend my skepticism and accept John 3:16. Because of this, I am rather disinclined to constantly advertise and try to convert those who don’t believe as I do. We’re talking serious shit here, far beyond my pay grade. Nothing I can do or say is going to ‘convert’ anyone. So, why insult our intelligence by pretending otherwise.

That’s the good part. The bad part is that there are bad people in this world who use the pretext of faith, religion, or lack there of, to attempt to force people into doing what they want them to do. That process, in itself, is abjectly irrational. Taken to the extreme, it is what gets people killed. The practitioners, or true believers of any ilk, the truly unhinged ones, like to take to the internet to get their point across. I like to think that they are petty, impotent people in real life, like Balock, from the Corbomite Maneuver. Instead of being this big, bad alien, they’re really just a cute little kid playing an adult. They must bully, intimidate, and threaten those of us who refuse to bow down to them, to leave their sector of space. When we don’t, they threaten annihilation. Like all true narcissists, they can be abjectly nasty.

Their favorite tactic is blaming all the ills of the world on Christians, Christ, God, and followers of Christ. I like what Frank Schaeffer wrote:

“…And if you are an atheist and angry that your good movement is being dragged into the blame game about this killing– now you know how religious people feel every time some religious person kills in the name of God and the story breaks blaming religion for all the evils in the world before all the evidence is in….”

It reminds me of President Obama’s speech last week at the National Prayer Breakfast. What he said about Christians killing numerous people via the Crusades, and through racism and bigotry here in this country. It was, though, intellectually dishonest, a cheap shot, and factually incorrect. Craig Hicks did not murder those three young people because of religion, or lack of it. He murdered them because he is an evil man. He is evil in the same way an anti-abortion activist guns down a physician or nurse involved in a medical procedure, or bombs an abortion clinic. He is evil in the same way ISIS slaughters innocent people. It is wrong to blame all Christians for the evil actions of truly vile individuals and it is wrong to blame Muslims for the atrocities committed by monsters. There is no difference.

In so many ways what Craig Hicks did was a hate crime and it was not a hate crime. It was a murderous crime committed by an individual who was full of hate. I suspect, had a young priest or nun been in that specific parking place, they would have also been murdered in cold blood.

]]>http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/13/the-acceptable-new-hate/feed/0http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/13/the-acceptable-new-hate/Confessions of a Data Hoghttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ThePinkFlamingo/~3/zRFi_fJAgAQ/
http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/2015/02/12/confessions-of-a-data-hog/#commentsThu, 12 Feb 2015 11:34:30 +0000http://www.thepinkflamingoblog.com/?p=42835...Read the Rest]]>Woe is me. Once upon a time – last week, I had a working MacBook Pro 17″ with a 700GB hard drive. It’s basically on life-support, currently unusable due to a hot battery which can damage the hard drive. I’ve had to transfer my life to my 120GB 11″ MacBook Air. I like the MacBook Air. It’s quick, easy, and portable. But – that’s a difference of 580 GB. My 17″ was using about 590 GB. So, 470GB is a more accurate way to look at it. Suddenly, every little GB counts. My 350 movies are on the Cloud, those Apple chooses to honor. Much of my music is there. I’ve been able to download the best of my music, and five movies. I have my photos and all my doc files.

This would be great. The problem, though, is when I am at my mother’s in San Patricio, I’m working off Verizon. There is no viable internet service there. I’d like Dish, but they are jerks when it comes to their satellite internet – so I’m stuck. I’m truly not getting this Cloud thing.

This is where the political rant comes in to play. Internet service in this country is disgusting. We’re at the mercy of every little telecom. There is no real regulation. I am currently paying for everything Windstream can offer, locally. Right now, I’m getting about a third of that. My upload time is so slow, I can’t save to Carbonite. This is so wrong. But, like the idiots at the mercy of Comcast, what choice do I have.

I have though, made a few decisions about product. I’m not going to go for a new MacBook Pro until they can solve the battery thing. I like the MacBook Air. I just wish I had a larger hard drive.

I’m currently, still backing up, and reworking my life. I’m learning, once again, when you are dealing with a small amount of space, every little file is important. At least I’m now up to date with product, programs, the Cloud, and renting programs instead of buying them. It’s given me the option of getting back to Adobe ID, and hitting the fashion book.